A RAVEN IN THE HAND REVISED
by Chassie66
Summary: Part 1:  Dave's little sister comes to visit, but it's not a pleasure trip.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I, of course, do not own any of the registered trademark characters of the licensed WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). They are being used without permission but I make no profit from these stories. These are just use for enjoyment (ect and ect….). Kayla is mine, you know the drill, she cannot be used without permission, blah blah blah… Also, there will be explicit sex scenes (maybe) and some foul language (Definitely some of those). Please enjoy**

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 1**

Dave Batista paced back and forth in the hall way of Madison Square Gardens as he looked at his watch often, he was never a patient man. Dressed in his very best black suite, with a crisp white button shirt, the Animal thought of better things to do than wait all night for his little sister to arrive.

He was surprised to hear from her, usually the woman was off in another country, studying ancient religions and participating in archaeological digs. Sometimes Dave thought she was a little on the weird side, she always came back with strange and mystical artifacts, some bore hideous grimaces and far to bizarre to forget.

Her most exiting endeavour was being called out by the Vatican, Dave had heard of five separate trips to Rome. He really didn't know what she did for them, Kayla never talked on what she did when she actually found in the digs. She just talked about the going on of the camp and gossip. Not even their parents knew what she did, and every time she was asked, Kayla directed the answer to something else. The woman was quite clever and very secretive.

Kayla was David's half sister, they shared a father. David's father had divorced his mother when he was ten, later married what his mother called a hippie chick. Kayla was born a year later. He got to see her lots though, his father had him come stay every second weekend and holidays. Dad and Serena bought Dave his first car, gave him more reason to stop in for a quick hello.

He watched Kayla grow up, she began to read at a young age. She was known to always have her nose in a book, usually an old leather bound book as wide as a dinner plate. She was always had top grades in school and was always on the dean's list at college. Last time he saw her, she had just rescued a baby raven from a cat last summer at his father's . Her dark eyes and dark red hair…it was hard to tell if the colour was real, until you saw her baby pictures.

As Dave turned back towards the front main doors, he grinned ear to ear as she walked towards him. She was as beautiful as he remember, she was average height and perfectly curvy, her long dark red hair was layer and brought straight around her face. The back shadow like make up around her eyes accentuated her dark brown eyes, making them appear black. Her lips were the colour of her hair, a scarlet sheen. Dressed neck to toes in black, a thick woollen turtle neck, almost tight to her skin, long bell bottom dress pants with patented leather boots with a three inch heel. She wore a cotton long coat with the cuffs and neck line covered in matching soft fur. The only colour on her was her silver necklace with a pentacle with tiny engravings hanging from the centre, it glittered in the light as she approached him.

It took him a few looks as he noticed a ball of feathers that sat on her right shoulder, it was the raven, the one she saved from becoming a cat's dinner. The animal was huge for its breed, the body was over two feet long, giving the beast a wingspan of six feet. Its beak was almost five inches long, his black eyes starred intently on Dave as they reached him.

"Kayla!" David smiled as he grabbed his sister in a hug, almost knocking the raven off her shoulders, she wrapped her arms around the Animal.

"Dave! I missed you so much!" Kayla grinned.

"Wow, you look great! How was your trip in Israel?" He asked as he took her arm and began to walk her towards the green room at the back of the famous stadium.

"Long, too long. If I have to eat another goat, I think I'll turn into a vegetarian!" Kayla giggled, "And how are you? Congratulations on your Championship win, I guess you must be thrilled to have the belt back."

"That happened at Survivor's Series…"

"I know, I watched it."

"How? You were in Brazil. In the middle of a rain forest?"

"Satellite internet. Does that guy really think he's a King?"

"Sadly…some of the people are a little strange, I think you'll fit right in."

Kayla gave him a fake punch in his gut, "You're so funny."

"I see that pecker head is doing fine." Dave grabbed the bird's beak with his fingers, the bird tried to bite back but Dave moved his fingers out of the way in time.

"Stop picking on him, and yes Reaper is doing fine." She playfully pushed him.

"Ah, come on Kayla. You know I like him, he's pretty smart for a bird!" He wrapped his arm around her.

The raven squawked a few times making Kayla giggle to herself.

"What's so funny?" Dave asked.

"At least he doesn't beat his chest like a gorilla…" She replied.

"I do not beat my chest…" Kayla stopped in front of a dressing room door.

She turned to look at it, there was a strange feeling coming from inside the room. She could tell it was powerful, but it was unknown to her yet it was still familiar, she had sense something similar before.

"Kayla?" Dave asked as she read the name on the door.

"Hmm…" She stared intently at the name, a small smile crept onto her lips.

She turned and smiled at her brother, "Nothing, just reading the name, see if I recognize it."

"Well, you must have heard of him?" Dave pointed to the door.

"No, not really…I really don't watch wrestling very much. Always off on a job you know."

They continued their walk towards Dave's dressing room, Kayla took another look back at the name and smiled.

UNDERTAKER

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 2**

Kayla couldn't remember if she had shook so many hands before, David had introduced her to everyone who was in the VIP lounge in a private box overseeing the ring. She had met Matt Hardy, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Jamie Noble and more. She even met a few divas such as Ashley and Layla, two of the Diva Search winners..

As David began to share some of their childhood antics, Kayla slowly moved over to the large window and starred down at the ring, it was dark, the only light came above the ring, illuminating only the centre of the arena. The sound checks were done, the ring was ready for tonight's show, which would start in only a few hours.

"Hey Kay!" David shouted to her, "I have to go get ready, are you going to be OK here?"

"She smiled, "Yeah, don't worry. I'll be good."

I'll see you in an hour or so, I have the last match tonight."

"Sure." She turned back at the stage, "I'll be just fine."

Kayla waited a half hour until she was sure that David was busy with photos and interviews, not to mention some time with back stage winners. She crept out of the room, hopefully unnoticed by the occupants. She looked around the hallway, she knew where to get back below, where the wrestlers had changed. The trick was to get there and back without anyone noticing her, especially Dave.

The first thing she did was walk over to a back door and opened it, turning to her feathered friend. Without a word from her lips, the animal opened his wings and leaped into the open air. One less thing to notice. She pulled out of the pocket of her coat and pulled out a head set. She slipped off her coat and installed the set on her head, now she looked like just another stage hand. She threw her coat out a open window, caught by the raven in flight.

After rearranging her hair to almost cover her face, she walked down to the lower levels and began to retrace her steps to where she spotted the door. It didn't take her long to find their dressing and change rooms, none of the wrestlers and divas noticed her as she walked past them, they were too busy with getting into their characters and buffing out before going on. Kayla was happy that Dave wasn't down here, he's be the only one who would notice her, after all, no one here had seen her before so it was easy for them to forget her.

She stopped at the door, to the dressing room at the rear, the farthest away from everyone. She could tell that this one like his privacy, she was going to find out why. After all, that was her job.

She touched the door lightly and began to search the room with her thoughts, there seemed to be no one in there, at least not human. She tried her search again, the results were negative for others. Kayla tried to turn the door handle but found it locked, she smiled to herself as she touched the lock with the tip of her index finger.

Her eyes seemed to run black, it happened every time she called forth the power, "Derah…norah…" She whispered, the door handle unlocked.

She opened the door and closed it quite quickly but quietly behind her and looked around, it seemed that this room was not in use, at least not yet. She slowly began to look around, the long leather couch against the far wall, a dressing table where a bottle of rye and two upright glasses a little of the liquor in the bottom sat on ice. She walked into the shower room and flicked on the light, there was no costume hanging from the empty hook. She came back out to the main room and looked again, her brother's dressing room was filled with his clothes and some work out equipment. In this room, there was nothing.

Kayla closed her eyes and began to concentrate, she could feel the rise inside of herself as the room began to glow in a soft blue light. As she looked around, she could feel was the walls were telling her. There was something of great power here, not too long ago…

The hairs on her neck began to stand up, the monster would be coming back soon. She crept back out and looked around, no one was there. She crept out and closed the door, locking it as she had unlocked it. She walked quickly around to the stairs that would take her back up to the VIP room, until she spotted the office door with Theodore Long's name on it.

As two wrestlers approached, Kayla began to pretend she was talking on her radio. They walked by without notice. She tuned back as the door and sensed within, luck was on her side as she sensed nothing. Again, the door was locked, but a lock was nothing to her as she crept inside and looked around. There were a few filling cabinet that seemed reinforced and on rollers, for easy transport she guessed.

She smiled as she saw the laptop that sat on the desk, she was good with computers. She moved to the desk and grabbed the notebook and lipped open the screen as she tuned it on. It took a moment for it to boot up, too much time for her.

She waved her hand over the screen, "Curdo momenta shill…"

The main screen popped up, listing all the files that were kept inside. She raced through the names of the characters until she came to his, she was almost shaking as she clicked the mouse over the name. His file came to view, she grinned as she gabbed a piece of paper and pen from the desk top and began to jot down all the information.

She closed everything and placed it all in their proper spot, she had little time before she had to meet David, and she was feeling like she was wearing her luck thin. As with the same stealth, she got out of the manager's office and ran back up the stairs while dodging a small entourage of fans following Finley to the change rooms.

As she came close to the room, she opened the back door again, Reaper flew in, her coat in his talons.

"Good boy…" She whispered as she removed the head set and placed it back into her coat before putting it one.

She rearranged her hair again, just as a hand touched her shoulder. She jumped a little as she turned around, David was trying to hold his laugh but couldn't.

"You should see your face!" He laughed.

"Very funny." She tried to smile as Reaper landed on her shoulder.

"Why are you so jumpy?"

"I got lost trying to find a confection stand. I was in the mood for a hot dog."

"Well, come on. We'll stop at one on our way to the ring. I just have to do two more shots before I got into the ring. I thought you'd like to see in action." He grinned.

"Sure, I would love that."

David wrapped his arm around and they began to walk down the hall, but Kayla couldn't help get a feeling of being watched. She looked behind her and spotted a giant of a shadow down in the far end of the hall, but it was gone in a moment. She felt his presence very strongly, they had become aware of each other. She hadn't much time.

To be continued….


	3. Chapter 3

**A Raven in the Hand **

**CHAPTER 3**

Kayla tried to look entertained as David talked to a few of is fellow wrestlers about, who would have guessed it, wrestling. She wasn't interested in it, she seemed it was way too fake for her liking. Actually, she didn't like violence to begin with. There was too much of it displayed in the world, real or fake.

She looked around the halls and spotted the tables filled with food and drinks, refreshments for the wrestlers and crew. She walked over and grabbed a Styrofoam cup and filled it with coffee as JBL walked up to her, she noticed his dorky smile.

"What is a fine lady doing here by yourself?" He grinned.

"JBL…is it? We met back up in the lounge." She tried to fake a smile.

"I was thinking to myself that you might need a little company tonight?"

She raised her hand to him, "No thanks, not interested."

"I can show you the town, honey. You need someone like me, I can…"

"Not interested." She turned around and began to walk away, but JBL grabbed her arm and turned her around forcefully.

"I don't think you know who I am, and I don't take no for an answer." He stared at her intensely.

Kayla starred back just as intensely her eyes changed to black, "Release me…" Her voice was smooth…calming…almost…hypnotic, "Release me…"

JBL's eyes became vacant as his grip lessen, enough for Kayla to pull herself free. She grinned as she looked at this pathetic creature, what would be a fitting punishment?

She grinned as she leaned close to his ear, "Walk to the middle of the ring with a microphone and announce to the crowd that you have a tiny dick."

The former 'wrestling god' walked past everyone and grabbed a microphone before walking down the runway and towards the empty ring.

Dave walked to her puzzled, "What wrong with him?"

"I really don't know, we were having a nice conversation and then he just walked away from him."

It didn't take them long to hear over the PA system, "I HAVE A SMALL DICK!"

Dave looked at her again, "What the Hell is that? Did you put something in his drink?"

"Oh come on, it must be part of the script." She tried to cover.

"Whatever, I've got to do one more shot before my match. I really don't want to leave you here by yourself."

"You worry too much. I'll be fine."

He kissed her forehead and walked away, she immediately began to feel as someone was watching her. She looked around and found no one but the other stage hands and wrestlers, and of course three security guards carrying off a crazed JBL from the arena who was still chanting he had a small dick.

She looked around again, the feeling had left her. The presence was no longer near her, she thought this would be a good time to continue her investigation. She walked a little ways from the others, but still very close to them, there was safety in numbers. She pulled out her cell phone and began dialling, it only took a moment before it was answered.

"This is Raven, I need you to look something up for me." She whispered as she pulled out her piece of paper and began to read the names off one by one, "…and I need this ASAP."

She hung up the phone and looked around, Dave was walking towards her with another giant, Bobby Lashly.

"Kayla, this is Bobby, the one I was telling you about." Dave introduced them.

"Nice to finally meet you, Kayla." Bobby smiled, "Dave talks about you all the time. I hear you're an archaeologist?"

"Some what…" She smiled back, "Mostly ancient religious artifacts and writings. A lot of boring stuff."

"Kay's being modest, she's travelled the world over a few times and discovered a lot of new items for museums around the world." Dave beamed with pride.

"Indiana Jane?" Bobby chuckled.

"Nothing that crazy." Reaper squawked at her, she closed his beak with her hand.

Bobby starred at the raven, "Unusual pet."

"Kay found him last year, he was about to be lunch for the neighbour's cat."

Kayla rubbed her bird's neck with her fingers to calm him down, "He doesn't like to be reminded of that."

"Batista, Lashly, you're up!" they heard a stage hand call out to them.

Dave turned to his sister and gave her a hug, "OK, we're off. I'll meet you back here after."

"Good luck out there," She hugged him back, almost knocking Reaper off her shoulder.

"It's only Booker and Finley, no contest." Bobby grinned as they left.

Kayla noticed King Booker and Finley walking towards the far entrance to the ramp, she guessed that they required two entrances for them. The look on their faces weren't happy ones, they really seemed to dislike each other.

She looked around the area, there were still enough people around. She didn't like to be alone right now, not when she was still unsure what this creature was. He was not likely to attack, if he knew what she was. He liked his privacy, and that just suited her fine, but she was going to find out what he was. Not knowing his kind and power levels before attacking would be foolish and fatal. She had never felt it before and she had studied many.

Unfortunately, she feared that he would be stalking her as she was stalking him. She felt his presence again, but this he wasn't alone. There was another, not as powerful, but just the same could be deadly. Even though she couldn't see them, their eyes were upon her. Waiting, she had thought, until she was alone.

Kayla hadn't counted for a second one, she had only seen him when she watched the pay per view from Brazil. The sound of the church bell had caught her attention as she was studying some artifacts in her hut. She was listening to when Dave was coming up in his match, but the presence of the Undertaker had caught her eye. The way he moved to the ring, only a trained eye would have noticed that he did not move as a human does. His movements were fluent, not the normal jerky actions. She had gotten too excited as she rummaged through her books, old tomes written by and from ages lost. Nothing had described this being, but she knew he wasn't human.

That is why she had come here, to not only discover a new form of undead, but also to neutralize the danger before it had seeped into the norm of this world. Her kind, as her mother and her mother before her, practised out of the norm. Kayla, was a witch.

She was a true witch, pass on through generations of the magi people, sworn to protect the world from the evils of the astral planes. They practice in secret, never relieving their true intents but only to those very close. Her Coven was located in Salem, MA, where her mother was from before moving to Washington and marrying her father. Her mother had taught her well in the art of witchcraft, but she noticed that her daughter was excelling at her studies in a fast rate of time. She sent her to Salem, to be tutored by the High Priestess herself. Kayla had relished her time there, she was free to practice the craft without interruptions. Everyone thought she was sent to boarding school, then off to college. But she actually studies spells, gods, monsters, and the worst, the undead. She had also studies the different practices of magic, from Voodoo to the Catholic exorcism.

Now, they are different types of witches, some who study the books and research to discover lost and vital information, others are grand masters at potions and philtres, but all are born with the abilities to control one of the elements of nature. As for Kayla, her talent to learn fast and apply it to her needs made her a vital part of a long secret society. She was a Seeker, one who would seek the unnatural and evil, as well as their disposals. When she wasn't out hunting the different inhuman beings that came to this world for their destructive needs, she travel the world, learning all who would teach her the craft.

The more knowledge she had, the more powerful she was. She could call every spell she had preformed in her life in a moment's notice. Some of her powers just came to thought, as if they were part of her own being. Her mother had the ability to control water, she could make a river stand up and dance in the air. Kayla had discovered that she could use all four elements in small increments, but sometimes it would drain her since her body was not able to compensate for the use. Word magic was much easier, it didn't drain the body, it harnessed the magic of nature around the witch and used to their disposal. And Kayla had an arsenal in her mind, ready for almost anything…she hoped.

She looked around again, the presences were still there, waiting for her to move. She looked at her watch, by the time it read and the sounds of the crowd, Dave would be finished soon, and then maybe they could go back to the Hotel right away. She didn't know what to expect from these two, this was definitely unknown territory. Back in the Hotel, she could place up the necessary protection spells, just in case they decided to attack. One can never be too careful around the supernatural.

Dave came trotting backstage with Bobby at his side, Kayla felt the presences leave. At least now she could relax a little, she needed more time to study them.

"Were you bored?" Dave asked as he wrapped his arm around Kayla.

"No, but I sure am tired. That was a long flight." She tried to hint.

"Well, we're just going to take a shower and make a short appearance at the VIP party. Then we can go to the hotel, OK?" Dave pouted.

"Alright, but just one hour, OK?" She pouted back.

"Deal."

To be continued….


	4. Chapter 4

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 4**

Kayla looked over to the bed beside hers, Dave had fallen asleep the moment he laid his head on the pillow. She had stayed up and took a shower, now she was sitting on her bed with her cell phone in hand, waiting for that very important call.

The phone began to vibrate, she ran to the bathroom and closed the door quietly. She answered the call, glad that it had finally came.

"Yes?" She paused as she listened intently, "Huston? And the other? Oh really? And the third? Nice…nice work."

She ended the call and looked back out into the hotel room, David was still sleeping as she crept to her suitcase. She looked at her clothes, there wasn't a stitch of any other colour except black. The colour would repel negative energy, and it really came in handy a few times in her life. She pulled out a pair of flair pants and a t-shirt. Her three inch boots were her favourite as she grabbed them and her leather jacket and entered the bathroom again, not before Reaper flew from the head board of the bed and into the bathroom with her.

After she had dressed herself and Reaper safely on her shoulder, she knelt on the floor and began to trace a square on the floor. After she had finished the square, a map of Huston appeared before her. Kayla pulled out a clear crystal on a foot long thin chain, made of pure silver. She held on to the end of the chain, where it was attached to a small pentacle, it made a great handle. The crystal end was hanging only an inch from the map.

The crystal was first, just hanging still until Kayla closed her eyes and began to search for them. Then, it began to move, slowly at first, then it began to swing around, going fast and faster until it leaped from her hand and landing on the map. She leaned over and looked to where the crystal was pointing. It showed a place on the outskirts of the city, that is where she would find the next clue.

Kayla turned to her feather friend, "Ready for a little trip?" She whispered.

The raven nodded.

She leaned pack and closed her eyes, this spell was little on the power side. It took concentration and the gift to perform, and knowing how to correctly pronounce the words really helped. The words left her lips in silence, yet as they were sound, a light began to glow from them. The magic was taking its effect as it flashed in the room, taking them away from their hotel room, and relocating to the desired place.

She could hear Reaper crowing as she opened her eyes, the place was definitely darker, but the smell of earth and death made her jump in surprise. They were standing in the middle of an old Victorian style graveyard.

"I don't like this…" She thought out loud as she looked around in the dark, the only light in the middle of the night was by the full moon.

"We're in the middle of nowhere…" She commented as she looked around, "This is where the real Mark Callaway is?"

The raven crowed softly, she smiled at him, "You're right, you can cover more ground than me."

The raven flew up into the night sky but low enough to read the names on the stones, Kayla flowed on foot. Even though the spell seemed to weaken her a bit, she could still keep up to her flying friend.

The graveyard seemed huge, she could sense some of the spirits that still lingered around their graves. As she walked, she spotted a young woman, dressed in early 18th century dress, a look of utter sadness in her eyes.

Another gift, to see the dead, the lost spirits that roamed on earth, sometimes looking for lost loved ones, other looking for just and revenge. A soul that stayed on earth was either unable to move on or was lost and couldn't move on because they didn't know how. Kayla had begun dealing with spirits by casting them out of haunted places. She had done subways, churches, hotels, even a farmer's pasture in England where a rogue soldier on horseback was haunting. It was part of her gift, the Holy Priestess Delaney had told her.

She heard Reaper crow loudly, he had found what they were looking for. She ran to where Reaper was sitting upon a large carved statue of an angel sat upon a tombstone where the Surname was carved in large letters.

CALLAWAY

"Good job." She said as Reaper took his place on her shoulder, she leaned closer to the writing on the stone.

Weather and age had taken its toll on the grey stone, at least it had not rubbed the names away. She could read them out clearly, the dates of their births and deaths. She read the first name, Luke Callaway and Margaret Callaway, from the dates they had to be the parents. The two other names had her shaken. The first was Mark Anthony, it stated that he was just nine years old when he died, the other, another son, Glen Jacobs, he was six, the other name on the list.

Kayla stood up in total surprise, if Mark Callaway and Glen Jacobs are real brothers who died thirty-six years ago, who were the beings that took their names? Further more, her source had not found any information on a Sara Callaway, and she wasn't in this cemetery if she did exist…or did she?

There was more questioned that arose from her findings, such as how did this family die? The dates of their deaths were the same date, they had dies together. She had read that there was a fire in their funeral home, where the family slept as well as worked. She had to find out more about this, just follow the bread crumbs.

"I think we really found something here, Reaper." She announced as she took a closer look at the names, "What to do you think, Reaper? Doppelgangers? Imps?"

"It is the most insulting description of my being from anyone living...or dead …" The deep booming voice made the young witch jump up in fright.

She should have felt his presence, she did before. But know he was able to hide from her, that has never happened before. She turned slowly, almost against her will. She was not ready to confront him, she hoped he was alone. At least she would like to think she had a slim chance for escape instead of none at all.

He was a very impressive seven ten, and she thought her brother was tall! He was dressed all in black as she was. Loose leather pants with his emblem on the left pant leg, a wrestling smock, a long leather trench coat and a old west style cowboy had. His dark crimson hair was wavy and stopped well below his neck line. There were tattoos decorating his neck, and padded gloves on his hands. His deep green eyes stared down into her eyes into her thoughts as his well chiseled face, decorated with a go-tee, showed no hint of thought. His presence demanded attention.

This is what she had hoped NOT happen, she was face to face with the Deadman himself.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 5**

Kayla stood still, Reaper fluffed up his feathers in a futile attempt to look bigger. He stood there in silence in front of her, looking with unrevealed green eyes, making her feel as if she was being examined.

The Undertaker was amused, even though his face showed no hint of it. He had never encountered one of her kind before, he had often heard of them but had thought they had been wiped out by the early colonists when they first arrived here. He had never given their kind a second look, their powers were far below his or his brother's. They had more power in one finger than a Coven of witches. Yet, there was one of them now, invading his privacy. She apparently didn't know what she was dealing with.

"Why are you here?" He demanded in a tone that sent chills up her spine.

"I…" She swallowed hard and stood straight up, "I know you're not of this world…"

"But you do not know what I am?" there was a smile as he spoke.

"I'll find out and then I'll send you back to the after world…"

Lightning flashed, making Kayla jump in fright. She thought she had more time, to find out what he was, before this meeting. She was going to be at his mercy, but not without a fight.

"Girl, you don't have enough power to stop me if I felt like doing something." He chuckled, she was young, inexperienced, easy prey.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, a spell was preparing in her mind.

"Finding out why you broke into my dressing room and the general Manager's room. Your magic leave a residual trace, easily traceable, at least for my kind."

Her face grew angry, "No! Not that! Why you are on earth instead of passing on…"

The Deadman took a step back, "Whoa! You think I'm a spirit? Waiting to go off into the light, maybe a lost soul wanting to rest in peace?" Now he was laughing, "Ha! You don't know much about the Astral world, do you?"

Kayla began to feel less afraid, and more confused, "I know a lot."

"Not about Reapers, do you?"

She stood frozen, and definitely confused, "Reapers? As in, Grim Reapers?"

"That would be our kind."

She thought for a moment, there was not much information on Reapers, they were never seen by the naked eye. Only those with incredible second sight could see a reaper, but they were never described as the one standing before her.

The old books described Reapers as skeletal beings dressed in black hooded robes carrying their scythes and ridding on black massive shires. There was no mention of large, powerful muscles, long almost back wavy hair, and that chiseled face and deep green eyes that seemed to try to read her soul.

"You don't look like a Reaper." She commented.

"I am." He was still intimidating to her, even though his face had soften a little.

"But you still didn't answer my question, what are you doing here on earth?"

"That is none of your business." He grinned, sending another chill up her spine.

"Your presence here is wrong, you have to go back to the other world…"

He laughed a bone chilling and haunting laugh, "And what is a little witch going to do about it? Wave your little wand?"

Now Kayla was really puzzled, "You know what I am?"

The Deadman casually leaned against a large monument with an enormous statue of Christ in prayer upon it, "I've been around a lot longer than you think little girl."

Kayla backed away slowly, she had to get away from him to have any chance of survival. But with the massive gravestone directly behind her and the Undertaker a few feet in front of her left her with little options.

The Undertaker smiled at her obvious nervousness, "Grim Reapers do not take kindly to troublesome witches prying in their business, why are you in mine?"

Kayla took a deep breath, "It's time to think about things to come if there is a reaper travelling our world, it can't be good sign. If reapers are flowing freely between the worlds, then what else is going on?"

A smirk grew on his face, "Hate to bust your dreams of saving the world from certain doom, but worldly conquest is not really our calling card. We have better things to do."

The witch smirked herself, "Like wrestling to scripted plots for the amusement of geeks all over the world? Who happen to all know that it is all fake..."

A flash of lightning shot through the cloud filled night sky, Kayla jumped with fright as the Deadman smiled.

"Not all of it is fake..." the Deadman whispered, "It's best that you just turn around and fuck off before you get yourself in some big trouble."

Kayla stood her ground, "I can't just let you run around here, I need to know why you're here and if you're a threat to us humans..."

The Undertaker laughed, "Use your head girl, if we were here to cause havoc in your little fragile plane, wouldn't there be a path of actual destruction behind us? Where are the bodies of people we've killed? Rubble of buildings we've destroyed? There's no hidden agenda darling, we're just here on vacation."

"Vacation?" Kayla gave him a puzzled look.

"Vacation." The Deadman replied, "Now be a good little witch and go fly away on your broomstick."

Kayla crossed her arms, "Now I take offence to that remark! For your information, I don't fly on a broomstick, and not all of us make potions..."

"I don't care what you do!" The Undertaker was getting annoyed, "Just get the hell out of my face and stay away from us..."

Much too quickly for Kayla to react, the Deadman grabbed a gold of her jacket collar and pulled her close. The witch couldn't cast a spell fast enough to defend herself, he moved her face close to his, his jade eyes stared intensely into her own.

"Listen closely," He spoke softly, we are grim reapers, Death itself. I don't even have to touch you to kill you...but we are not mindless apparitions waiting to feast on the souls of the departed. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it the moment I discovered you. Now, I think you better be getting home now..."

To be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 6**

Kayla opened her eyes in wonder, the last thing she remember was being in the arms of the Undertaker, now she was laying on something bed as someone was shaking her. The last thing she remembered was the Undertaker's threat.

"Are you awake yet?" She heard Dave asked her as she looked up at him.

He was dressed, in his usual suit and attire, "Where did you go last night? You really must have tied on one, sleeping your clothes."

She looked down at herself, she was still dressed in what she wore to go after her hunch. Somehow she had been brought back, and with no recollection of it. She looked overhead on the head board of her bed, Reaper was sitting there asleep. At least he had made it back too.

She leaped off the bead and looked around, the sun was shining through the large window from the room.

"I guess I partied a little too much last night." She smiled.

"Why didn't you wake me? I would have gone out with you."

"You were so tired after we got back here and I didn't want to disturbed you. You just fell asleep like a log after your shower. Besides, I was fine anyways." That was good thing.

She grabbed a change of clothes and ran into the bathroom to take a quick shower before they headed to take a flight out home, she was heading out to Washington with Dave, to visit their parents for a few days before returning on the road.

"Hey Dave…" She called out from the shower, "What do you know about the Undertaker?"

"Why do you want to know about him?" He asked as he packed his suitcase, making sure his ring shorts and boots were packed.

"Just curious, it's just that you never see his wife anymore. What's her name…Sara?"

"I just met him since coming on Smackdown, I've just seen him around before. But he's still not seen often around the background. Keeps low key. Except when he was his American Bad Ass, that's when his wife was around. He was pretty mouthy and mean, he got into a lot of fights."

"So you guys don't share a locker room?"

"No, only the stars of the WWE get that, like me."

"But, have you seen his wife, you know, at special events like the Hall of Fame ceremonies?"

"Before, during, or after his American Bad Ass?"

"After…"

"No, actually, I've never seen him either. Why all these questions?" He walked over to the slightly opened bathroom door, "Did you meet up with him last night at the bar?"

"You could say that…"

"Did he hit on you? He's on the creepy side you know, some of the other wrestlers that have been here as long as he has have told some really disturbing stories about him. And that Ministry was rumoured to have been for real. He's really not all there you know."

"So are you but I still love you."

"Funny, but for real! I think he's still married, there are some rumours of him having two kids, maybe more. Who knows what this guy is like? And besides, he is not your type!"

He heard the showed go off, "Kay, I really hope you are not thinking about going out with this guy…"

"Get real!" She shouted behind the door, "I am not interested in him like that. Just curious to see if my instincts are right about him, that's all."

"You think he's a creep too?"

She came out of the bathroom dressed, her wet red hair held back in a pony tail, "I don't know anything about him, OK? I'm just curious, that's all. I mean, he's not as good looking as his kid brother, Kane…" She chuckled.

"Very funny, are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, just let me throw my stuff in, do you know where Reaper's carrying bag is?" She piled her clothes in-orderly in her suitcase.

"This one?" Dave asked as he lifted a gym bag with netting around it up in his hands.

"Yeah, can't carry him on the plane without it."

She finished packing and smiled at her brother, "Ready. Dave? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure…" He was cautious, he recognized that look on her face.

"Can I join you on your tours? I need a change of pace and I've racked up enough flier miles to travel the world over again. And besides, it's give me an opportunity to spend a lot of time with my big brother."

He looked at her strangely, "Do you want to be a Diva?"

"Oh no! Nothing like that, maybe a freelance photographer? That is my hobby, you know."

"Yeah, I know. You did my first pictures for my portfolio, I am still certain that it's what got me first noticed. Maybe I can talk with Teddy Long and see if we can get you on payroll. You are very talented, and most of the guys will need that talent to make them look at least half decent."

Kayla grinned ear to ear, "You're so funny, but you think I'm that good?"

"Yeah, Dad showed me all your awards at galleries, you have talent in that hobby. It's like your pictures show inside your subject, and out for the world to see."

"Wow…" Kayla stood in awe of her brother, "…I didn't know you knew so much about art…are you gay?"

"Fuck off!" He threw a pillow at her, "That's what was written on your marks, bonehead!"

"Gee, thanks!"

"Ah, he grabbed her in a mock head lock and began to rub her hair, "You'll do just fine!"

"Fuck off! Let go of my hair!" She stomped on his foot, causing Dave to let go.

"Nice hair-do…" He chuckled.

She pulled the elastic and pulled her hair back again, "Arse."

"You love me, admit it."

She grabbed her bag and called for Reaper, the Raven woke up and flew to her in a daze. It seemed that he too was confused but their unexpected return.

"Ready to go home, Reaper?" She asked her friend, the bird replied in a short crow.

"I guess you'll be taking him with you too, hun?" Dave asked as he opened the hotel room door to leave.

"Of course, he's like an American Express Card, I never leave home with out him." She grinned.

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 7**

There were people gathered around the erecting ring, the stage hands, sound guys, and even the visual guys were making their checks, working out the bugs before Showtime. They were scattered around, hooking up sound equipment, setting up the ring, there was even a crew taking out the walls of the cage for the Hell in the cell match between Bobby Lashly and Finley.

Kayla was busy taking shots with her high resolution camera. Some people wouldn't know that the old looking tool was actually state of the art digital, sending the chosen pictures straight to her laptop through the air that was sitting on a chair close to her. She liked to take pictures, she seemed to always see something else in the photo, something better than what she had planed.

She started taking pictures of the runway, unaware of the presences stepping closer to her from behind.

"I thought it was you…" Kayla spun around in surprise, especial at what he was wearing.

She hadn't expected the Undertaker to just show up in broad daylight, wearing tight blue jeans and a Nomad sweater. He even had the biker boots and blue/white bandana. He actually looked quite human, even a little of the handsome side.

"Shouldn't you be hiding in a coffin in a haunted chateau right about now?" She smiled.

"That would be a vampire. Those haven't been seen in years." He relied as he took a few steps closer, his hands were nestled in the front pouch of his sweater, giving him a relaxed look.

He couldn't help but smile at her, "You won't give up, will you?"

"Now I've been thinking, what if I gave you an offer couldn't refuse?", asked Kayla as she quickly took a few snap shots.

Mark raised an eyebrow, "You want to make me an offer? What are you up to now?"

"Well, what would you rather have; a coven of very nosey but terrified witches chasing you around or one girl taking a few notes, taking a few pictures..." she snapped another picture of him, "After all, it's not everyday that we get an opportunity to study your kind..."

He looked at her with a sarcastic look, "Like what? Like me?"

She moved closer to him, just so he could hear her speak, "A reaper with flesh! They had all been described at being bony, but there's no bones about you! For whatever reason you are for, I'm not going to pass this up! At lease with me up your ass, you can't get into much trouble."

The Deadman couldn't contain his laughter, "Honey, you think I can be trouble? I'm not the one to worry about, it's the other one you should watch."

"What do you mean?" She looked at him puzzled.

"You didn't do all your research, I'm not alone…" He grinned as he took out one of his hands and pointed behind her.

Kayla turned around and spotted the man that he was pointing at. The giant was just taller than the Deadman, but just as wide. His frontal partially shaved head and the protruding fore head gave him a Neanderthal appearance, the one white eye seemed to bring out the fright in people as he approached and they moved quickly to get out of his way.

"That's Kane?" She asked with her eyes wide open.

"Yeah," The Deadman grinned, "that would be him." He leaned closer to her ear, his breath on her neck sent a sweet shiver down her spine, "He's the one you really have to watch out for."

Kayla moved quickly away from him, she didn't like the way he made her feel when he was round her now. It wasn't fright, not nervousness. No…it was something else, a feeling that should have never found a place in this.

"There's two of you…I should have guessed, he's using the name, might as well. How many are you here?"

"You ask too many questions, little one." He was still smiling, "Haven't your elders taught you any manners?"

"I want to know your secrets, why you are here…and why of all places here? Why did you come to wrestling? I'm still confused with that."

"You know what they say about curiosity killing the cat…"

"…but satisfaction brought her back." Kayla grinned, "And I am very curious about you."

"Be careful of what you wish for my dear, or it just might come true."

She moved one hand on her hip in frustration, "Is that all we're going to do, is just throw cheep shots at each other? You know, I could just go behind you and do my own snooping."

"Now I know you won't let this go."

"You know I can't, not something unnatural…"

"Death is part of Nature…" His tone was serious.

"But why are you here?" She asked, "Why did you leave…"

He motioned her to stop talking, "Too many ears here, some on, I'll take you to my dressing room.

He extended his arm, like a gentleman would have in years gone by. Kayla quickly grabbed her laptop and put it and her camera in her bag and took his arm into hers, letting him lead her to his room.

He smiled down at her, she could help but return the gesture.

"What's your real name?" She asked him.

"We don't have names, where we come from. We are just what we are, there was never a name used. I guess you can call me by the name I did take when we came here."

"Mark?"

"Yes, my turn. How did you discover you were a witch?"

"My mother is a witch, and so was her mother all the way up through the family tree and far into England's history. Our family had lived in Salem since their arrival when the puritans first arrived in Salem. I pretty much grew into it as my mother taught me, but she always told me never in tell anyone who was not of the Goddess."

"So, Batista doesn't know about your craft?"

"Oh hell no! He would really think of me as a nut job!"

Mark couldn't help but chuckle, "You humans are quite funny."

They had reached the door of his change room, he grinned at her, "Would you like to do the honours again?"

She shied for a moment, "No, it's your door."

He just simply turned the knob and opened the door, Kayla followed behind as they walked inside, closing the door behind them. The room was similar to the one in the Gardens, except a little larger. Mark had sat down on the leather couch with his arms outstretched on the top of the head set, he looked up at her and smiled softly.

"You can sit down, if you want. Unless you're still scared of me?"

She sat down on the far end of the couch, she didn't want to be so close. He was still supernatural, it was still hard to believe he was a reaper, and that there was two here.

"You never told me why you were here. Why you and Kane came here, or even how you came here. I mean, there's so much I want to know about you."

"Can't you leave some things well enough alone?" He moved a little closer to her.

He had noticed her when he first entered his room, she didn't have the same feel he had felt from other witches. Her power was different, it was still from her witch heritage, but there was much more to it. He had never seen a human, witch or not, with a pure white aura. It was truly beautiful to look at, it was after all her soul reflecting outward. Only those born of another world would carry an aura like that. But Kayla was definitely human, there was nothing of unworldly within her. Born of two humans, one being a witch, would produce nothing but a witch child.

The Undertaker had noticed how her power moved within her, he had watched her since he noticed her energy within the wall of the Gardens. He actually even watched her as she broke into his room and search it. He was allured by her, of curse she wasn't aware the effect she was having on him. His kind never thought of joys of the flesh, even though they had experimented with it when they came and liked it, as any male would.

Btu there was a certain pull from her, an almost silent call from deep within her soul. It seemed there was something locked deep within her being, a part of what she would be. Truth be told, he was quite curious of her as much as she was of he. Mark wondered why her beauty had this effect on him, could he be actually attracted to this human? A witch! The thought had crossed his mind for a moment, but Reapers knew nothing of love. But that didn't mean there was no stirring of new emotions, after all, he was living a human's life.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 8**

Kayla couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by her company, the way he was looking at her seemed to feel a little uneasy. But then again, it wasn't everyday she had Death for company.

Mark just smiled at her, "Am I still making you nervous?"

"Oh no…" she faked, "I deal with this all the time."

"Dealing with the dead is one thing," He leaned over a bit, "but dealing with Death is another."

"And are you ever going to tell me the real season you both came here?"

"Vacation." He grinned.

"Still vacation?"

"Kane and I were tired of the reaping. Unlike our brethren, we had developed individual thought and functions. We yearned for a life outside the Reaping world, just to say. I myself had spent countless time watching over the humans as they struggled in their life, but yet their happiness was enticing. When the Callaway family had perished within the fire and I and Kane was there to reap their souls, we used the life force of the family to make ourselves new, a form of rebirth into this human world. They were to die, fate had sealed their fates that night, it was our way out."

He was alarmed by the look of horror on her pretty face, "You killed them?"

"Well…um…" He was not prepared for the unconditional bond of all their kinds, "but they were to die anyways. We simply used their deaths to our advantages."

He sighed in frustration, cause by the distress his answers were causing her, it seemed that she couldn't understand why he did what he did. Normal for their kind to think him a monster for using their life force to live, it wasn't like they had a need for it anymore.

"Even thought that would really cause fright in a lot of people, I kind of get what you were trying to say. I mean, I'm not a reaper so I wouldn't know what was right or wrong for you." Kayla voiced quietly.

His essences seem to lift, "At least you understand, I would like to think that."

"I think so." She seemed to have moved a little closer, she didn't look unsure or fidgety, "That would explain why I didn't recognize your power before, I feel death and since you are Death, your power confused me."

"Our kind doesn't visit this plane in human shells very often, almost all come to this world in their tru forms. Flying skeletons dressed in a hooded black robe, that describes them exactly.

"Kay decided to get one question off her mind, "Who is Sara?

"Sara doesn't exist. Well, not anymore."

"Don't tell me you killed her off."

"No, she was dead before I raised her from the dead to act as my wife. I needed to prove to the WWE board members that I wasn't a nut job, as you would say, so I created a new persona and added a wife. No one knew the difference."

"Something like Voodoo?" she asked.

"No, Voodoo only allows another spirit to inhabit the body, but the body still decomposes. What I did was brought the body to life, and replaced the soul with one of my own, created from me to act like a woman. No one was the wiser."

"You must have some serious power." She grinned.

He liked the attention she was giving him, she really seemed interested to what he was saying as he talked.

"As mush as I enjoy this talk, and this time with you," Mark began, "but I do have to get ready for the show tonight."

"You're right, it is getting late and I want to see Dave before he goes on." She looked at her watch, "the guys are meeting with Long right now." She looked up at him, why aren't you going?"

"I don't have to, Long and I go way back."

Kayla raised herself from the couch and smiled again, it seemed that she did a lot of that when he's around, "What are you doing after the show?"

"I don't know, maybe crawl back into my coffin for the night?" He sniggered

"Everyone's a comedian. For real, what do reapers do when they're not wrestling?"

"What everyone else does, what ever they feel like doing."

"Well…I guess I'll see you around then, I'm still going keep my eye on you."

"Just me? I feel privileged." He grinned.

"I'm going to go now, I'll talk to you later?" She wanted to see him again, the information she could get from him was infinite, and she really didn't mind his company.

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later…" Was it in his voice?

She walked out the door, breathing a little fast. She could the anticipation of their next meeting. She walked along the halls, her steps a little lighter. Her thoughts wondered, could a Reaper have relationship? She laughed to herself, imagining carrier day at elementary school, and the Undertaker, standing in front of the class dressed in a hooded black robe with a scythe in one hand, telling the children about Reaping. She busted out laughing, no, that would never happen, but it sure would be funny.

She froze in her steps, someone was watching her. It wasn't Mark, nor his brother. Their power signatures were almost identical. This was a human, but bonded to the dark forces. She looked around, but saw nothing. She turned back to her travelled directing and began to walk again, the feeling had not left her. This someone was watching her intently, and she didn't like it.

Just as she was about to open the door to the blue room, a room used to house special guest of the night, she noticed at the bottom of the door, a small earth worm was wiggling about.

She stepped back and looked around again, where would this worm had come from? No one was in the blue room yet, Stone Cold Steve Austin was to make an appearance tonight but he wouldn't be in until later. She had noticed a red light coming from the room from under the door, she held her breath for a moment as she opened the door quickly and looked inside. There was nothing but the red light of the emergency door, because the back door was left wide open.

She gave the room a good looking over, then feeling satisfied with her search, closed the doors and flopped on the couch, pulling out her lap top to work. She began to go through the pictures of the day, pulling out the good ones of the star wrestlers and filing each one under their respected named files.

She felt something moving on her hair, she grabbed it with her hand and took a look at it, it was another earth worm.

"What the..?" She looked at the ceiling, it was covered wall to wall in earthworms.

"OH…shit…" She said as she starred up at them, they were being held, suspended by that dark power she was still feeling.

"Is this supposed to intimidate me?" She called out, "This isn't scary, it's gross!"

The lights had turned off, the red light came on in the darkness. Kayla looked around for the source, there was none apparent. A bloodcurdling laugh was heard all around her, she called forth a spell, a fire ball appeared in her hand. She would never go down without a fight.

To be continued….


	9. Chapter 9

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 9**

The worms that kept on the ceiling began to move together, forming a mound in the middle of the infected area. Kayla moved her lap top out of the way and stood up, the fire ball waiting in her hand. The worms gave her no clue on the type of power, there were surprising so many on this world.

A face began to emerge out of the mass of the creatures, a red face wit the eyes, nose and mouth accentuated in black, not to mention black spots upon the red and a small tuff of black hair on the top of his head. His black eyes seemed to glow with the red light, worms were crawling out of his mouth.

She starred at him, not in fear but in curiosity. As the head descended, showing the rest of his body free of the worms, Kayla recognized the fur around his neck and the wand in his hand. She was surprised to see one of his standing here, one such as he would never leave his village! What was he doing here?

He was more than just a character on the roster, this man was exactly what you saw. This man be, a Voodoo priest! He landed on the floor on his feat, crouched low to the ground but still starred at her. He slowly began to raise himself, his body swaying back and forth, in a serpent dance in a sort of way.

Kayla had battled a few of them in the past, she and a warlock had been travelling in Africa a few years back. They had to retrieve a magical artifact from a Voodoo priestess in a remote village, they succeeded in their task, but it wasn't easy. Their gods definitely existed because the Priestess' prays were answered as she called for their power. The two barely made it out. But what was one with his stature away from his village?

She felt her body swaying with the rhythms of the priest, she remembered that their main deity was a snake, and he bestowed a gift on his chosen, the power to hypnotize. She shook herself free, gaining control over her body and way was natural to her, she threw the ball of living flames straight at the man. But before the fire could touch the magic man, the worms from above released their hold on the ceiling and collided on the ball. They covered the flames as the ball exploded, the worms fried as the fire claimed all of them. The mass of worms had reduced the blasting radius of the spell, keeping the magic man safe. But the ball was closer to Kayla, she was blasted back and had hit the wall hard with her back. She fell on the ground, almost knocking over the table beside her, she was sore but still alive.

She raised her head to see the priest smile from across the room, his two front teeth were missing, allowing a few worms to wiggle though. He pointed his wand at her, the charms and feathers danced as it was moved in tiny circles, he was casting. Kayla was still groggy from the hit, she began to call forth a spell, but from the dark light escaping from the tip of the wand, she doubt she had time.

Suddenly the world turned dark around her, then a flash of searing red waves were redirected around her. There was something between her and the blast keeping her from harm, a someone in fact!

She wasn't in a dark place, as her mind cleared, she noticed a rather large dark body knelt in front of her. She looked up and felt utterly relieve, it was the Undertaker, dressed in his ring clothes, his deep green eyes assuring her.

"Are you OK?" He asked in concern.

"I think so…" she replied as the red light stopped.

The Deadman stood up and turned right around, but the Boogieman was no where to bee seen. The only reminisce of his presence was the burning worms left to suffer an ill fate for their master.

He turned back to Kayla, stretching out his hand to her. She didn't hesitate from his touch, even though it was still cold to the touch. He raised her gently, pulling her close to his frozen body. She couldn't hep but hold on to him, she was shaken by the attack, not being far from her savour comforted her.

"Are you sure you're all right?" He asked softly, she seemed lost in his eyes.

"I'm just sore, left my guard down a bit." She felt his arms close a little tighter around her, pushing her closer to his form.

She found that she liked being so near him, his icy touch didn't bother her. It was easy to get lost in his eyes, she wondered for a moment if these feelings were what he had thought, or were they just an infatuation for something completely new and unheard of.

"You have a way of making friends." He wiped a little piece of cooked worm off her face ith his thumb as he caressed her cheek, she was liking his gentle touch…

"What the dog-gone hell happened here?" They turned and starred at the door where the angry voice was shouting from.

Teddy Long, General Manager of Smackdown, was standing in the open door way, and he wasn't alone. Stone Cold was standing behind him, as well as was his manager Jennie and a few other wrestlers. They were all looking surprised at the Deadman and Kayla.

"Take it easy Teddy," The dead man grinned, "I was just showing a few tricks of the trade with our new photographer, you know I am a sucker for a pretty face."

Kayla seemed to blush, she tried to hid it by turned her head inward to his chest, pretending to wipe her eyes of something. Until Dave walked into the room. He looked at the two, the embrace they were in was burning a hole within the Animal. He never liked the Undertaker and they had never had a reason to but heads before. Batista was aware that the Deadman would be coming around, looking to get the belt and destroy anyone who got into the way. It was widely known that the Phenom was a master of minds, his head games always gave him an edge over his opponents. He wondered now, was the Deadman starting to get gold fever? Getting close to the animal's baby sister would definitely cause them to but heads, he would not let that monster use his sister in order to get the belt for himself.

"Kay? Why are you hugging the Undertaker?" He was certainly confused with her actions of late, she wasn't acting herself.

Kayla moved slowly away from the Deadman, "He was just…helping me up, I tripped on my heels."

She nervously grabbed her laptop and bag and walked out the room, past her worried brother. Dave looked back at the Deadman, the Undertaker was standing tall and unmoving. It reminded Dave of a dominate male dog in the pack, standing his ground in front of another male.

Batista didn't back down either, he decided to stand at his full height just before leaving to follow his sister and get some answers. She was still walking down the hall with her bag in hand, covered in ash and little bits of meat like substance.

"Hey! Kay, wait up!" Dave shouted at her, she stopped at the sound of his voice.

She turned to face him, her eyes full of worry, "First thing, it's not what you think…"

"Really? It sure looked like you two were getting pretty cozy in there." He replied as he placed his hands on his hips, "What's going on Kay?"

Kayla bit her bottom lip in frustration, she was able to keep her secret from him before without lying, but how could she explain this without revealing it? She was always taught the dangers if one not of the faith would find out that Magic and its likes are alive and well on this world, they just hid themselves from the human world as best they can. But again, she did not want to lie to him, she would have to choose her words carefully to try to reassure him but reveal nothing.

"Alright," She took a breath, "You see, the Undertaker has knowledge…in a non-sexual manner…that I am very interested in. trust me, there is nothing going on between us."

He stood there for a moment, his eyes wide open, "That tells me shit! Kay, that guy is not a nice guy, trust me about this! Those stunts that everyone thinks are so fake? Well, they are real! The fights are real, the blood is real, the pain is real, what you see is real! I've seen the hell, fear, and pain he's put on a lot of wrestlers. He's conniving, manipulative, malicious, and dangerous! You cannot trust that man…Kay, I've heard that the guy dabbles in witchcraft, that's fuck up!"

She couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Oh no…he's not into witchcraft, that I know for sure."

"Kay, I don't trust this guy, he's only after one thing with you…"

"Oh come on, Dave…I'm sure he's not after my ass…"

Dave looked confused for a moment, "Not you…I'm talking about the belt! The Undertaker is going to be coming for the belt soon, what better way to get to me is to get his little sister on his side! He'll use you and throw you away like he did with Stephanie McMahon, she was never the same since. He kidnapped her and took her to his church when he was the leader of the Ministry. He kept her there for a week, she doesn't remember the horrors that she went through there. Sane said that he must have done something to her because she can't remember a thing.."

Kay was still with this news, "He kidnapped a woman? Why?"

"It's a long story…" He placed his hand on her shoulder, but pulled away from the squishy feel of the reminisces of the explosion.

"Um…Kay…what the hell is this shit?"

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 10**

It was a warm night, she left the balcony doors open in her hotel room. She was five floors up, a nice little room with a good view of the city lights. She kept the lights off, the only light was from the other building outside. Kayla was glad that the night had gone off without further altercations. She was also happy of the private accommodations that head office supplied. She didn't mind sharing a room with Dave, but she did need her privacy right now.

Kayla had just come out of the shower, happy to be rid of the worm mush that collected on her, the smell was hard enough. She had at least cast a spell that made everyone think she looked fine, but in fact she was covered in the goo all night.

She dressed in a simple long black nightgown, held on her shoulders with spaghetti straps. She pulled the towel off her head, her dark hair, still wet, fell loosely just past her shoulders.

Her thoughts wondered again, as she pulled out her hair brush from her suitcase and began to brush her hair. It seemed that the Deadman had left his mark on her. The words of her brother still played over and over in her mind. She didn't like to think that her knight in shining armour was actually a tyrant.

Dave had never lied to her before, the truth was the one thing they had never compromised in their relationship. Yes, there had been many times that they wouldn't reveal certain things, but here was never any lies between them.

But then again, the Undertaker had never done anything to her that would have suggested that he was a danger, in fact he had saved her from the Voodoo Priest, the Boogieman. Could he had just saved her to use her for his own dark plans? She didn't know anything about Reapers, she didn't know what they were capable of, after seeing one that had no resemblance of what she had been taught.

He could be, but would he? There were more questions than answers, even the next new addition to her investigation. What a Voodoo Priest was doing in the WWE, and why had he attacked her?

She felt a cool breeze from the window and turned to look, there was no one there. She peered back at the TV, they were showcasing the party after the match on the news. She felt the chill again and looked back at the door, she heart seem to lift as she saw his form standing out on the balcony. The lights behind him gave him the appearance to be a complete shadow, as he moved to knock on the window, she could see his gentle face starring at her by the light.

"Hi…" She smiled as he walked into the room, his eyes never left hers.

"I came to see if you were really alright…" His eyes were so tender.

"I'm glad you came, I didn't get a chance to thank you back there…" was she a giddy nervous around him all of a sudden?

"I am relieved that you're not hurt, but you shouldn't be picking fights with Voodoo Priests." He grinned.

"I was unprepared, I didn't notice he was there. I did feel him at first, but I couldn't get a point on him, moving too fast for me to catch him. I've never felt one so powerful before."

He was still keeping his distance, she didn't know weather it was a good thing, or a bad thing. She liked the way he looked at her, the way he touched her. He wasn't like any other men she had dated, but then again none of them were a Reaper.

"Do you know why he attacked you?" He moved a little closer, she hid her smile.

"No, but them and us had never been on the same page. We Witches had been dealing with them for a long time."

"That's what happens when you have two powerful magical people who believe their way is right. Your people have been dealing with this for a long time. It's just the Vodu people had a shit kicking into them when the whites kidnapped them and put them into slavery. I bet that if that never happened, they would be the big shots now, not you witches."

"But that's the thing! The Vodues don't just attack us! They travel over here to us and battle with words! If one of us had done something unjustly them, the guilty is brought up to a panel of five judges, two witches, two Voodoo Priests, and an outside source in case of a tie. And we do the same with them. We even work once in a while for each other. The Voodoo Priestess that I first encounter was actually a rogue one, she was able to turn the power to the dark and take advantage of a lot of people. She had the backings of a dark power for sure. But it's not their nature to just come out and attack me, unless I was a threat, it had to be one hell of a threat."

"What ever reason that the Boogieman has on attacking you, I can tell it's not good. You should really keep an eye out for him. He'll come back after you." He was still, his voice had a hint of concern, as well as his eyes.

Kay still found it hard to believe the things Dave had said, well…right now would be as good as any.

"Mark? Can I ask you something, I heard some things and I need clarification on it."

He sat on the bed right in front of her, he was now only a few inches away from her, "Ask me anything you wish."

"Stephanie McMahon."

His expression hadn't changed, "You want to know why I kidnapped her, or what I did to her in my home?"

"Yes, what I heard was not good."

"But Kayla, I am between good and evil. I simply do what I do. Stephanie was just used as a pawn in a game with her father. It proved to him that I could get at what he loved most."

"You know, that is fighting to hear…"

"On the contrary, what know one knows is that she simply slept the entire week, waking in brief moments when she was given food and drink. She didn't require much because all she did was sleep in my bedchamber. Nothing more, nothing less. And no, I did not torture or rape the woman. Whatever illusions she dreamed when she slept was entirely her own doing. She was in the same condition as when I took her to when my men carried her out on my cross…"

"You actually did that?" It seemed that a little of what Dave had said was true.

"I have no interest in harming women, but I have used them in my time to get to my means."

Kayla crossed her arms, the stern look on her face told him that she didn't like what she heard.

"Are you going to use me?"

Now he looked puzzled, "For what?"

"To use against Dave for the belt!"

The Deadman stood up and looked down at her, he could feel her warm breath on his almost bare chest, the angry eyes starring back at him, her lips soft…she was striking.

"No, I had not thought to use you against Batista. But remember this, you came after me, not the way around. But I gather that David doesn't know about that. You want to know more? I also understand how important it is to keep the secret. That's why I disbanded the Ministry, they were asking too many questions. Then I disappeared and reinvented myself, came back a new man…"

"What the fans thought was your true self, they had no idea that the American Bad ass was the Character, the Undertaker was the real thing." She finished, "no more questions."

"Exactly." He grinned, that smile was back on those sweet lips, "I think you're starting to get your own opinion of me."

"I just don't want to be used like this. It's bad enough that Dave will have a heart attack if he knew you were here right now alone with me."

"Don't worry, I think you're safe with me…" He touched her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb again, "I should go…"

"...yeah…" she didn't want him to go just yet…

It seemed that his face was getting closer to hers, "Good night…"

She closed her eyes…then felt nothing. When she opened them, he was gone, back into the night where he had come from. Kayla looked around in a daze, it was going to be hard to keep those feelings bottled down deep inside. She couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way of her job, determining why the reapers are here and if they pose a threat, and now why a Voodoo priest attacked her.

To be continued


	11. Chapter 11

**A Raven in the Hand**

**Chapter 11**

Salem Massachusetts, famous for its history, mainly for witch hunts. Tourists and locals can find witches of today here, walking around dressed in their robes, shopping and dinning out, just like normal people. The known witches of Salem would even perform some minor rights and ceremonies for the townsfolk, but the true withes hid themselves from the world, in order to protect it.

Lapshook Manner, a giant of a mansion nestled within over five hundred Acres, surrounded by a twenty feet stone fence all around, rested on the outskirts of Salem. This is where the real witches come to learn and teach their craft in secret. A school built in the late seventeen hundreds, it's founder, Samuel Lapshook and his wife Millie, had thought that they needed a central home, one where they would welcome the small numbers and keep the old ways alive for generations to come. A place of study and to collect the knowledge that they gathered, it was a perfect place to raise the young generations to follow.

Kayla called this place home. She was sent here when she was only ten, her mother thought it would be wise. Kayla was a fast learner, and the school would offer her more knowledge that she could in Washington. It wasn't a bad thing. Kayla would always come back during holidays, spring break, and the entire summer.

She was home now, hiding within the solid stone walls of the vault where all the sacred tomes, artifacts, and power was held for study and to rest until it was needed. The vault doors were located within a room that looked very much like a library, but was built far beneath the foundations of the old building.

She was sitting at one of the many desks, with old books and scrolls scattered all over the table's surface. Scribbling on a note pad as she read an old leather bound brown book, she was not new to the studies. The events of the past few weeks had been picking at her brain, the discovery of Reapers and a Voodoo Priest out of his element, that was quite unheard of.

Kayla decided that it would be best that she did the research alone, usually she would call her fellow brothers and sisters of the goddess, those that did the actual research for the others. But she felt it would be better that no one knew about this until she had finished her investigation.

It wasn't for the fact that she didn't need their help, there were a few researchers that were very knowledgeable about Voodoo, many had travelled to the heart of Africa to learn from Priests and Priestesses and vise versa. Even though the two magical populaces never saw eye to eye, they both new the importance of sharing the magic knowledge and the protection of it from the non-magic.

She had created a perfect cover to the normal…(or muggles as she started to call them after reading the entire series of Harry Potter, she loved those books. It would be hilarious for the people to know that J.K. Rowling was actually a witch herself, a priestess in another Coven in England),

Kayla was a photographer for the WWE now, always getting a change to get her subject alone to question, but the Undertaker wouldn't just spill his guts out to her, if he had any that is. He would give her little bits, just to keep her wanting more. She didn't know if he was just going it on purpose, but she didn't care. She liked to be near him. His mysteriousness attracted her like a moth to a flame, she wanted more from him, even to have him touch her again.

Kay sighed as she closed the book, she looked with a frustrated look at all the books. She wasn't finding anything on Reapers, except what everybody knew, the traditional Grim Reaper. That frustrated her, how can there be no other info on them? This couldn't have been the first time that a Reaper has come across the veil, the veil is what keeps the Astral Planes and Prime Material planes apart.

She began to rub her temple, a head ache was forming again. One of the double doors of the library opened, An aged woman, who still seemed to be quite fetching, walked slowly into the room. The black simple robe with silver time and runes writing in the same silver material dressed the bottom of the robes and her large cuffs. Her hair would have been blond in her younger days, now the golden strands were covered in silver, just as it should. This was not just another fellow witch. She was the High Priestess of this Coven, she ruled order with her male counterpart, usually a man of her age dressed in white robes with gold trim. They represented the Goddess and God, the pagan deities, Isis and Pan.

"Child Kayla?" She called out in a soft and low voice, "Why are you down so late in the night?"

Kay jumped as the Matron startled her, "Oh! I didn't know anyone was awake…"

The Matron walked to the desk and sat beside her young subject, "What has you up all night in the vault?"

The priestess knew she was keeping something from her, but she was never the kind to push until the time arose.

"Um…" Kay hated lying…

The Matron pulled an open book towards her and began to read a little on the page that was left open, she looked back at Kay a little curious.

"Reapers?" She asked, "Why are you studying Reapers? I believed that you were after a rogue Voodoo Priest."

"I am…that is…Oh Matron Shalla, I found the Vodu after I was starting to investigate another phenomenon…"

"Another? This would have to do with the three names that you had Steven look into for you?"

"Yes, Mother Shalla. I discovered something incredible! But I would rather not say anything until I am finished with my investigation."

Shalla smiled, "You have discovered a Reaper in the Material World?"

Kayla couldn't help but grin, "Not just one…but two! And Shalla, he touched me and I did not die! He's made of flesh…at least I think he's flesh…but he's cold to the touch, like a corpse!"

"This is interesting news, isn't it?" Shalla's smile seemed to just make Kay a little more excited.

"That's not all! There is so much more I can learn from him, he was the one who saved me from the attract by the Vodu…"

"That is what has me worried, child. Please think about this, why would a Reaper and a Vodu be in the same surroundings, and wrestling of all things? And why just come out and attack you?"

"That's what I need to find out! The two have to be related to each other but I still don't know how. The Undertaker doesn't seem a bit worried about my snooping, but I didn't even know the Vodu was there!"

"Perhaps the Vodu feels that you might be a threat to him, how I don't know how." Shalla looked at the books again, "The Reaper had a name?"

"Yes, kind of. He's taken a few names, most were just given to him."

"What do you call him?"

Kay couldn't help but smile when she talked about him, "I call him Mark…he's not frightening at all, now the other one…"

"Unless it was your time and he was the one taking you…"

"I don't think I would mind if it was him..."

The Priestess laughed, "It seemed that you are falling for him…"

"He is really easy to talk to…"

Shalla raised her creaking body and kissed Kay on the forehead, "It is only natural for a Raven to find Death. They are connected you know…"

"I know…"

"The Raven has always been your totem, perhaps it is the Raven inside of you that is attracted to him."

"The Raven is part of my soul, Mother."

"Yes child, she is. I have never told anyone of this, but Kayla, the Goddess has told me of the Reapers' coming. She had not giving me any feelings of fright or evil thoughts about this."

Kay looked at her in surprise, "You knew about them and didn't tell anyone?"

"No, the Goddess instructed me to tell no one until one of my own had found them." The old woman began to leave, but stopped and turned back at Kayla, "Isis had told me that a Raven would find him."

"Mother Shalla?" Kay stood up from her seat, the old woman smiled at her.

"Yes?"

"When did you know about them?"

The High Priestess smiled softly, "Thirty-six years ago." And she left the library, leaving Kayla to wonder if there was much more to this then just another investigation.

To Be Continued…..


	12. Chapter 12

**A Raven in the Hand **

**CHAPTER 12**

Kayla looked around the barren landscape in frustration, she had no idea that it would be this hard to find him. He didn't have a problem finding her after all, and she was standing where his address in his file would be. But Death Valley is a big place to look for one man, as big as the Undertaker was.

She shivered in the cold night air, she wished she had brought a warmer coat as she stood out on the road, looking in either direction around the rocky scenery. Reaper on the other hand was quite relaxed in the below freezing temperature, he was resting on the window of her rental car as his human friend looked around confused. Kayla would have never believed that a desert could be so cold, no wonder he liked it here. It was miles from anything remotely civilized, quite and still…like a grave yard.

"Well, Reaper?" She asked her companion.

The bird crowed softly at her.

"I can't just pick a direction, I don't have wings like you do. Why can't you just go up and take a look around?"

Reaper crowed low.

"The hawks here are not that big, and besides, you have a pretty fierce looking beak yourself! I think you'll be alright."

The raven huffed then lifted into the air, circle ling a few times before he flew east, looking for the Deadman. Kayla looked around, then decided to sit on the hood of the car to wait for her friend. She began to think again about her new discoveries.

First Kayla ran through her mental list of the Undertaker's abilities, she knew he could raise the dead, was at least able to withstand some magic, and the ability to sense magic residue. She could hypotheses that since he was a reaper, he could still kill with his touch, but it must be by will she figured. His bare finger tips had touched her skin before, that cool touched made her mind wander off from investigator to woman.

His strong face seem to materialize in her mind, his deep green eyes seem to draw her near him every time she was close to him. She began to recall the attack in the green room, starring at his bare chest, his eyes telling her that it would be alright. Then, when he was holding her, stroking her face…was he playing with her?

She knew he was playing with her inquisitive nature, only divulging a few tid bits of information, it just made her starve for more. That's what got her out tonight, looking for him. The talk she had with The High Priestess made her think her steps. Why would the Goddess tell her a Reaper had come, and only now she had heard of it? And what does that mean? A raven will find him she had told her chosen, that would explain a few things.

Ravens have been associated with Death beyond ages. Fables of ravens carrying the souls of the dead from earth to heaven, into the arms of their beloved gods. Her totem was a raven, her familiar was a raven, a raven named Reaper. She couldn't help but smile. But if she was meant to find him, what was she supposed to do with him? Send him back? Did he wish to be human?

Even if he did, she knew she couldn't help with that. She was still learning to use her powers, her natural abilities bloomed late, and multiplied. All witches are born with the ability to control the element of their birth. Kayla was born on February twenty-ninth, a leap year. She was advanced in her spell casting and scroll work, but had a very difficult time drawing up her natural powers. It weakened her considerably, even though the power generated from with in her being, the drain it had on her physical body would leave her very ill. Her mother believed that it had to do with the day she was born, it's not every day a witch is born on a day that only appears every four years. Her mother and Shalla believed that the body would grow with the body and be able to work harmoniously, the power did grow but the body was resistant.

Kay didn't think too much about it, after all she preferred spells than inner power, she had a vast knowledge of them, it came from the gods themselves so there was no draining on the body. The Voodoo people were the same, their gods had live for as many years as her own. There were actually many other factions of magic people, the native Americans and Canadians had their shamans, the Christian religion even had their priests, even though they would almost never display their god given gifts to their people. But the Witches and Vodus were the dominating force.

Kay wrapped her arms around her shivering body, this was taking too long. She wasn't one to loose patients, but then again, there was nothing like him. Her thoughts were lost again, it took her a moment to notice her cell phone was ringing.

"Hello?" She asked as she answered.

"Hey Kay, where are you? I called your house but your roommate said you were out." Dave's voice came on line.

"Hey, yeah I was out for a walk, it's such a beautiful night out." Besides the freezing she was thinking.

"Listen, the reason I'm calling you is that I was talking with Vince McMahon, and they're looking for an assistant director for RAW, I was thinking that you might like that, better pay…"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Kay asked.

"No, I just thought that this would be more challenging for you, and I know how much you like a challenge."

"I have challenges on Smackdown, Dave. And besides, I like being around you. Why Dave?"

there was a pause on the line, "Kay, I didn't like what I saw in that green room, I'm worried about you and I just would feel safer if you were on RAW."

"What do you think he's going to do to me?" She didn't like fighting with him, in fact, they had never had a fight before, "Dave, for the final time, there is nothing going on between me and the Undertaker. We are just friends!"

"Yeah, like he was with Paul Bearer? Do you know where he is?"

Kay thought for a moment, "Who's Paul Bearer?"

"His manager…of sorts, I keep forgetting that you know almost nothing about the WWE. They been friends and enemies for a long time, the Undertaker encased him in a cement coffin, the guy's in a mental hospital now, just a babbling idiot. Look what he did to Stephanie McMahon..."

"Nothing, he did nothing to her." Was she taking his side instead of Dave's?

"How would you know? Kay, are you still talking to him?"

"Yes…but it's still not what you think! It's not like he's trying to get me into his bed, trust me, I highly doubt hat he's like that."

"You don't know what he's like! You can't believe a word he says…" A sharp pain pieced inside her mind, causing her to drop the phone and grab a hold of her head.

The pain was searing, bringing the young witch on her knees on the ground, her body shook as tiny moans of hurt escaped her lips.

"KAY!" She couldn't hear Dave shouting on the phone, her body lurched over as the throbbing increased.

Flashes of pictures raced thru her mind, visions that she had never seen before. Horrible forms of giant snakes, with venom dripping from their enlarged fangs, a calf being torn apart by wolves, human skulls all lined up with bright colours painted on their white bone, a rotting corps, raising itself from the grave…

Voodoo…she at least could think long enough to know this was Voodoo, but a form of this Vodu magic that she had not encountered before. The true Vodus of Africa were healers and spiritual guides, they had a gift for understanding blood magic which they would use to heal their people, a magic that very few could understand and would dare to touch. Those who would use the power, would do so in very carefully planed and supervised manner. But then, there are the rogues, that believe that the magic is there to be used, not hidden, they would use for their own. That was one magic that witches were never allowed to perform, the magic was complicated and dangerous in the wrong hands. The Vodu had been using this magic for centuries, they were the only people who had the expertise in using it for healing, and for defensive puposes.

Kay knew who was doing this, but she still didn't know why. The Vodu known as the Boogieman was attacking her, he must have constructed a Voodoo doll in her likeness. It wouldn't have been hard for him to gather a small personal object to place inside the doll, she had left her coat and bags in her locker at work all the time, a normal lock would be nothing for him to open.

The vision kept flashing, more pain followed. This time, she could see his face come into her mind, the worms dancing from his mouth as a giant serpent hissed from behind him. His eyes, his eyes were the only things she could see, there was a voice as well. She couldn't make out what he was saying, the language could have been foreign, or she was in too much pain to hear. Either way, she didn't care, the pain was too much for her. She fell to the ground, still holding her aching head with tears in her eyes, she looked up a the star filled sky, begging her gods to stop the pain. Her mind was slowly shutting down, it could no longer handle the pain, making the body fall unconscious would lessen the body's risk to go into shock, thus saving her mind from burning out.

She looked back at the sky, there was no more star lit sky, she was looking at nothing but blackness, A black robed figure was floating above her, his white face was hidden in the shadows of his hood, two green glowing orbs that seem to float from within the darkness of the hood, was there a scythe in his hand?

She felt something raise her shaking body, a voice was talking to her but her mind was slowly turning itself off, she hadn't the strength to try to make it out. The tone of the voice was soothing to her, the pain lessened as her world became dark, she closed her eyes one final time before falling into unconsciousness.

To be continued.


	13. Chapter 13

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 13**

Crowing, that's what she was hearing. It was Reaper's crowing, she had heard it every morning since the bird came to live with her as a baby. It usually meant that it was time for her to get up to feed him, he was always up way before she was. Kayla liked her sleep.

"Go back to sleep…" She rolled over on the bed to get a more comfortable position, her eyes till closed.

The crowing continued, louder this time.

"For crying out loud Reaper…" She sat up on the bed, her eyes wide in shock at her surroundings.

She wasn't at home, she wasn't in a hotel room, she was in what looked like a Victorian styled boudoir, equipped with antique furnishings and even a giant of a four post bed. It was actually quite comfortable in fact. Thick black curtains hung around the post of the bed as well as on both man sized windows, they were drawn apart, to allow the morning sun to light the room. The walls were red, accented with a gold scroll like trim almost to the ceiling. The raw iron candle holders had unlit white candles, there was even an ebony wood desk in the far corner. This was definitely no where she's been.

She looked at herself, she was still dressed in her cotton pants and blouse, but her boots and coat had been taken off. She was lying on the black silky sheets of the bed, her head was propped up with the pillows.

"How are you feeling?" Kay jumped as the voice that came from the side of the bed.

She turned to look and saw him sitting on the chair, Reaper was sitting on his shoulder. He wasn't dressed in smocks or blue jeans. Now he was dressed in what looked like black silk pj bottoms with a similar looking house coat, and it just had to be left open, to reveal his strong and muscular chest.

"Where am I? She asked in a confused tone.

"You are here, in my home. I had found you lying in front of your car, you were unconscious." He was smiling, she seemed to be alright, physically at least,

"Just a headache, but I think I'm OK…" Was it his true form she had seen last?

"That's the second attempt from the Boogieman, I think we should take this serious."

The Undertaker raised himself from his armchair beside the bed and sat beside her on the bed, he felt her head, his hands were definitely soothing to the touch. The pain seem to disappear as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

"That should be better…" He spoke quietly as he removed his hands, smiling down at her.

"Thanks, do you know what happened?"

He looked a little taken back, "Well, I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I came out here to look for you, the phone number on your file is a fake."

"Couldn't this wait until Monday at work?"

"No, not really. I don't think I have that much time to find out what's going on."

The Deadman looked puzzled at the sad expression on her pretty face, "What's wrong?"

"Dave. And the Boogieman….mostly Dave." She looked at him, a little sadness in her eyes, "He really doesn't want me around you, Mark, and I'm scared that he's going to find out about us."

Mark definitely was puzzled, what did she mean by 'us'? Did she think he was courting her? The mating rituals were still new to him, he never really interested in is, as much as Kane was. Kane had gone as far as forcing an innocent Diva into marriage, and there was even the prospect of a child. But unfortunately, the child was lost and the woman went a little mad. Kane had never recovered from the lost of the child. He was more eager to live as the humans than Mark was. He had actually just gone with him to make sure he didn't mess with them too much. He just figured he would lay back and just watch Kane in his follies with human interact, and help him out if he needed.

But this little witch seem to have captivated him, she had found him, she was not afraid of him or of what he was. She didn't run from his touch, it was actually as if she enjoyed it, and he liked that. But to actually go into the same unending turmoil of the human heart as Kane failed at everyday, no, that's not his style.

He had to ask, "Us?"

"Yes, the magic world!" She replied.

He should have been fine with that answer, but it seem to make him feel a little disheartened instead, "Oh…yes…"

"I need to find out why the Boogieman is coming after me and before Dave finds out!"

"I don't believe that you are capable of doing that by yourself." He grinned, "That's twice now that I'm come to your rescue."

"And I'm thankful for that, really I am." She couldn't help but smile in his company.

"I want to ask you something, why are you not using your natural abilities? I have seen witches perform some very powerful things with them. I have yet to see yours. I would think that someone with all the elements would be powerful…"

Kay began to laugh out loud, "Powerful? I can't call out water or fire without getting dizzy and fainting! If it wasn't for the fact that I can recite any spell that I learned, I would probably be in the archives, doing the research instead of investigating."

He could tell this subject frustrated her, "I can help you with that."

"How? What do you know of Witchcraft?" It seemed that he always had a surprise for her.

"I do know that the power becomes more powerful as you use it, and since you don't use it, your body has a hard time compensating for the use. The elemental powers a witch has is born with her, making a part of her body, mind, and soul. Therefore, if you keep using it, you will grow a tolerance to the draining, and perhaps, you won't feel drained anymore." There was a little arrogance in his face about the knowledge he possessed, but he did hit it on the nose.

"So, if I just start using it a little at a time, then I should grow into it?" If she started to show some interest in learning, then he would definitely come around more often, they would get more chances to talk.

"That is exactly what I'm saying. You don't use it because you're sacred of it, however minor the scare is, it's still a scare. Now would be the time to get over it. The Vodu after you is powerful, and I won't be around you twenty four seven. I would hate to think what could happen if I don't get to you in time." He seemed generally concerned for her, Kayla couldn't help but feel that Dave was wrong about him, as were the books of the tome about his kind.

"If we knew why he was after me…"

"Why a photographing witch?" He threw in.

"He is a rogue, my Matron had informed me of that. And he knows blood magic."

"How do you know that?" This was something he knew little about and was interested.

"Well, Voodoo dolls can affect a victim's mind if the Vodu had blood magic. By getting something personal, say like a few hairs from my hair brush that he could have gotten out of my locker at work, he can transfer the bond from the hair, through the doll, and into me. That's how I believed he did this."

"And he can do that?" Mark confirmed.

"Yeah, you see, blood magic drains the life right out of a caster, so to protect themselves, they had to feed it an outside source. And the only source for that are souls. And if that's the case, we are dealing with someone who has knowledge of the most deadly magic this world has ever known…"

Now the Undertaker was taken back by this, but he would not let on, "I believe you know what that is."

"Yes…" She was shaken by it, "Death Magic…"

To be continued


	14. Chapter 14

**A Raven in the Hand**

**Chapter 14**

Dave drove his rented car aggressively down the long cobblestone road, he really didn't know where he was going, it was his first time in Salem. Last night's phone call didn't end on either of their parts, Kay was in trouble and the only one who knew where she had gone was the room mate. Dave called the local police department, nothing they could do until a missing people's report was filed, and that could be only done after the forty eight hours were up. He had taken a late flight, it was past sunrise when he arrived, bought a map of the area and rented a Pontiac Sunfire.

He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, the Undertaker had to be behind this. The way he saw the Deadman look at Kay, the way he talked to her…and the eyes she was giving back. No, there would not be anything going on, and Dave would definitely put a stop to it. He could only guess that the Phenom was aware that the potential Kay brought to the ring, Batista's little sister, make her fall in love with him, make her turn against her brother, win over the distraught brother and gain the gold. Simple but effective.

It would be a cold day in Hell before he would allow that monster to put another hand on Kay, she was still young, new to the world. Just because she had travelled the world doesn't mean she knew anything about the type of men he had to deal with at WWE. He was sure as day that she wouldn't believe the strange things that happened around the Undertaker, it was hard for him to believe himself.

Dave looked back at the return address from a letter Kay had sent him a few years ago, it was hard to read because there was no named road on the address. He had gotten some directions from a few locals out walking their dog, the street he was looking for was past Bate's School, between St Mary's Cemetery and the Kernwood Country club, to the left from the direction he was going.

Lapshook Manor, he had heard Kay talk about the dorm many times before. He didn't remember the university she was working out of, he only knew it was on the same property as the Manor. He had never heard of a Dorm called a manor before, but he guest that the University was built beside a home and it was turned into a dorm. Only a guess of course.

Dave smiled as he looked at the vast Cemetery, the tombstones were large and decorated with carvings and stone statues as high as ten feet! Even though it was a place where dead bodies slept for their final time, it was still a beautiful place. The variety of plants and flowers that grew around the tombs had every hue of the colour spectrum. He passed it, looking intently on the left side as he drove past a small forested area, then just noticed a small road. He would have missed it if he wasn't paying attention, it seemed that no one trimmed the trees around the road, concealing the entrance to the manor.

As he backed up and turned into the hidden road, he wondered why this University didn't advertise itself? There was no listing in the city's directory, the road itself was hidden, no street sign to announce it's location…nothing.

As he drove for a few minutes, he noticed that the trees were clearing, and he could see the massive brick walls in front of him. He had no choice but to stop and the raw iron gates. He got out of his car and looked at the gate, the only ornament was the pentacle in the middle of the gate. Dave looked past and could just barely make out the front of the mansion, that had to be Lapshook Manor.

He searched the ends of the wall, sure enough there was an intercom. He walked over and pressed the little black button beneath the plastic covered speaker. He didn't hear anything and waited for a moment, then pressed the button again. After the third attempt, a crackling came from the speaker.

"Who is it?" a man's voice came crackling out.

"Hi! I'm David Bautista…" it had been ages since he had used the correct pronunciation for his name, it was just easier to say Batista instead of Bautista, "…my sister, Kayla Bautista lives at the manor…"

"She is not here sir." The voice replied.

"Do you know where she is? Did she come home last night?"

"No sir, she did not return home last night. I am sorry but we do not know where she is. I am sure that she is alright…"

"Like hell! I heard her scream on the phone last night! Please, let me talk to her room-mate! She must know…"

"Miss Blake is not here either, sir, she is on assignment…"

"Didn't you hear me? My fucken sister is missing and it seems that you assholes are not given a rat's ass about it…"

"I assure you, Mr Bautista that your sister's health it at the most important to us…" The female's voice behind him made the animal jump, there was no one there before.

He turned and say the old woman, her silvery blond hair was tied up neatly in a bun on top of her head, her black robes seem to sway a little in the wind.

She gave him a tender smile, "Mr Bautista, I can assure you that your sister is in safe hands. You have nothing to fear."

He looked at her a little stunned, "How…how did you get there?"

She looked up at the sun, "It is such a beautiful day for a walk, don't you think?"

She walked up to him and extended her hand, "I am the Headmistress of Lapshook Manor, Shalla. I have heard many great things about you, Mr Bautista."

"Do you know where Kay is?" He was stern looking, angry that they didn't seem to care.

She gave a look of pondering, "No, but I do know for certain that she is well. Have faith in her, David, she draws her strength from you, you know."

"If you heard what I did last night, you wouldn't be thinking she's safe."

"But she is!" She touched his shoulder wither her hand, "She cannot be anywhere safer."

"How can you say that when you don't even know where she is!" He was getting frustrated with her answers.

"I do not know where she is, but I do know she's safe."

"You're just repeating yourself, how do you know she's safe? And why is this place so hard to find?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"The members here like their privacy, as you well know that Kayla likes hers. Mr Bautista, I am afraid that there is nothing more I can tell you, other that she is fine. I would know otherwise."

"What is with you people? Kayla is missing! She's not answering her phone and obviously not home here. If this is her home, I still want to take a look in her room! Just to see if there's anything that can help me find her!"

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow you on the grounds, it would make our members nervous."

"What? What is this place, really? It really doesn't look like a school." He starred at her for a moment, "you are a cult, aren't you?"

Her aged grey eyes looked angry for a moment, then soften again, "Mr Bautista, I would appreciate that you would not use that term, it is actually unfitting and insulting our home. I had hoped that we could meet in more a pleasurable way, the information remains the same. No one on the grounds knows where Kayla is, but we all know she is safe where she is, and she is not alone."

Now Dave grew angry, "Him…she's with him, isn't she? That's why you won't tell me where she is? You're protecting them? Ma'am, you have no idea what that man is…"

Shalla smiled, "On the contrary, I know exactly what he is."

To be continued…


	15. Chapter 15

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 15**

Death Magic, the term is used loosely. The ability to tune into the powers that are associated with the extinction of life and use them for one's own need. Unknown to most of the modern world, when the body dies and the spirit begins to leave the body, it is at its most vulnerable. The soul itself is pure energy, enough to cast the most powerful of spells. That is why there are those that practice the magic, as long as you have the energy to feed it, one can do almost anything.

Death Mongers, Kayla had herd the term before, one who practices the deadly art fluently. The books explained that they would have command on the dead, creating zombies, calling forth spirits and forcing them to do his dirty work, even be able to command someone to die. They were dangerous to everyone, even themselves if they could not control the power. After all, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"…and that's all I know about them." Kayla had recited the information to him, Mark sat unmoving as she spoke.

He finally smiled at her, "And still, the question of the day is why he's after you."

She flopped back on his soft bed and looked up at the ceiling, "My only guess is that he's after my soul to fuel some big spell…a witch's soul is more powerful than a regular person."

"But you still have no idea as to what the spell could be?" Asked Mark, he couldn't help but look at her with a smile, her red hair had fallen around her head, like a deep red halo, she seemed more beautiful to him each day.

"I think a trip to New Orleans is in order." She popped back up in a sitting position, her hand had accidentally touched his, causing a little invisible spark between them.

She pulled back, as the same moment as he did. They looked at each other, silent in their gazes for a moment. Confused by each other, they had no notion that something was stirring within, a force more powerful than they could ever imagine.

Mark looked away and raised himself from the bed, "Want some help?"

Kay wanted to say yes, just to have him close to her, "I don't think it would be wise to bring a Reaper to a Voodoo Priestess, not right now at least. It would probable freak her out, until I get more info on you."

"So, you're just using me for my information?"

"NO!" She shot back, no idea that he was just joking with her, "I mean…"

"New Orleans is full of Vodus…" He turned the conversation away, "…do you know where to look?"

"Oh yeah, I know of one, Madam Sheer. She comes to the manor a lot, nice creole woman, great cook too." Her stomach rumbled loudly, her face turned red in embarrassment for her hunger pains.

"I'll go get something for you to eat, I'll be back." He turned to leave the room, Kay raised herself from the bed and just starred in silence at him until the door closed behind him.

Kay grabbed her boots that were on the floor beside the bed and sat back down on the bed's edge putting them on. Her eyes wondered around the room, the dark deco was definitely his style, she didn't know they had a style. She liked it, it was cozy to her…like a tomb? She got back up and looked out one of the grand windows, just to see where she was.

As she looked out, she was shocked to find not a barren wasteland, but a garden! And not just some vegetable garden, no, this looked like a huge courtyard! There was even a pond in the middle, decorated with lilies and orchids and surrounded by a grey stone bench seat at the edge. It was beautiful.

This was definitely something new to her, a reaper taking care of a garden, Death's Garden as she now called it. It was hard to imagine the Undertaker with his hands elbow deep in soil, toiling around. No, there was magic in this because there was no way there would be a garden to this magnitude in the middle of the dessert. But it was still Beautiful.

"Enjoying the view?" She heard him ask from behind her.

She smiled as she turned to him, "It's beautiful, how…"

"There's a natural spring in the ground on this property, I thought this place needed a little life. I could take you for a tour, maybe after all this is over with?"

Kay wanted more than nothing to get that tour right now, but she knew she had to go back to the real world and talk with Madam Sheer.

"I will definitely take you up on that offer sometime, but right now I need to…"

"..eat." Mark finished for her, he handed her a plate, on it was a corned beef sandwich on Pumpernickel with real mayo and mustered, and Havarti cheese, her favourite.

She looked back at him in wonder, "How did you know…"

He looked a little guilty, "I confess, I read your mind when the stomach growled. I thought you were craving that. But I can always make you something else."

He didn't have a chance to take it back before half of the sandwich disappeared in Kay's mouth. Reaper had flown onto his mistress' shoulder, in hopes of getting some too!

"This is really good." She said between bites, "The bread is so soft…really good."

Mark was thrilled that she didn't mind his prying into her mind, or was that the sandwich was just too good to care if he did. It didn't matter, the smile on her happy face was enough for him to know everything's OK.

"That really hit the spot…" She grinned as she popped the bit of sandwich in her mouth, poor Reaper was disappointed that he didn't get even a crumb.

"Now that you're physically sated," He grinned, "do you need a lift to your car?"

"Yeah, that would be great, are we in some sort of dimension? Because I never saw this place…"

The Deadman laughed, "The desert is the illusion, this place is real, we are not in another dimension." He handed her cell phone back to her, "I found this beside you, the battery's dead."

Kay's eyes opened wide in shock, "Oh my gods! I was on the phone with Dave when the Vodu attacked me! He must be going out of his mind right now wondering what happened to me!" She grabbed her jacket, then stopped for a moment, turning slowly at him, "You can't tell him I was with you…"

His face showed a seriousness to them, "I already know that, but …he's just as curious as you. He has a way of finding things out for himself."

"I know, that's what scares me. I really don't know how he would react to all this, especially his little sister being a witch."

Mark moved closer to her and took her face in his hand, "If he really loves you, it won't matter if you're a witch or a mortal. If you were my little sister, I wouldn't care what you were."

She smiled at him, hoping that he didn't look at her like a sister, of course, if Reapers had sisters.

"That's the sweetest thing a guy could ever say to me." She grinned.

"Oh, I'm sure a lot of guys give you compliments…" He was loosing himself in her dark eyes again, they were so beautiful, like a doe, "You are such a beautiful woman…"

Kay could feel her heart skip a beat, she didn't know if she would just let him kiss her or should she kiss him? He was leaning forward, bringing his cool lips close to hers. She closed her eyes, ready this second time for his kiss of death…

The cell phone began to beep loudly, breaking the lock the two had on each other. Kayla and Mark looked puzzled at the phone who was still beeping.

"I was sure that the battery was dead…" Mark picked up the phone and opened the flip, sure enough, the battery was full and there were messages waiting for Kay on the voice mail.

"I cast a spell on the battery, its recharges itself when it goes dead, just takes a few minutes." She nervously took the phone from him, wishing that she had not cast the spell, she would have felt that kiss by now…

She looked at the phone, Dave's number was showing up on the caller id at least twenty times, "I have to call him, let him know I'm OK."

"I'll take you to your car." There was a hint of disappointment in his strong voice.

Kay pulled her jacket on, Reaper had to jump off for her to fit her arm in the sleeve, "Thanks…and thank you for saving me again."

"Anytime…" He hoped there would not be, he didn't know what would happen if the Vodu had killed her, except that the Undertaker would definitely not let the Boogieman rest in peace.

To be continued.


	16. Chapter 16

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 16**

It was raining in New Orleans as Kayla drove within the city line, wondering what was going to happen. The Vodus made her nervous, the way they would stare at her when she was growing up, they never did that with anyone else. Madam Sheer, the old woman who smelled like spice all the time, she would always want Kayla to sit with her, talk with her, anything to spend time with her.

She remembers the gatherings at the manor, when new leaders would take the sacred mantel , all magi would journey to the gathering, where ever in the world it may be. Sometimes she would be allowed to stay up and meet with these magi, she never knew why she received the special treatments. She met many different people of magic, from Mongolian Mystics to Australian Witch doctors. Once there was a tall man, his skin so black she thought he was a burned by a dragon, dressing in leopard skin robes, he would talk with her in his native tongue, which she didn't understand at the time.

Some of them had given her some of their magic objects, then take them away just as fast. She really didn't like to be with them, the way their dark eyes would look at her, she felt she was living under a microscope when the Vodus would come.

"_Little one…"_ She could hear Shalla call to her, _"We have guests, and they all want to see you…"_

"_But why do they want to see me?"_ a younger Kayla had asked her.

"_Because, you are special_…" That was all Shalla had told her, she was special.

"Yeah, special…" Kayla grunted as she tried to drive down the people filled streets, it wasn't even Mardi Gras and the streets were filled, "…I am so special…like that wrestler, Eugene? Yeah, I'm special."

She pulled down Bourbon street, driving slowly so she wouldn't miss the entrance to the alley where madam Sheer lived. Her family had ran the Restaurant, the Moulin Rouge since the blacks were freed so long ago. The food was fantastic, the music seem to take you into its arms to dance, and the people, good ol' creoles dancing and laughing the night away.

"Mark would like it here, it's so full of life…" She thought, still couldn't get the Deadman out of her head, just as her cell phone began to ring.

She picked up the phone and looked at the number, Dave was returning her call that she left hours ago, after Mark had brought her back to the car. She pulled off to park on the street side, it was time to find out how much Dave was worried.

"Hi!" She said as the phone clicked on.

"Where the fuck have you been?" She heard the shouting from the speaker, "I've been worried sick for the last two days wondering what the hell happened to you?"

"You worry too much…"

"Like fuck! The last time I talked to you, you screamed and I could do nothing! Nothing! And then it went dead! Why? What happened, and where the hell were you?"

"You ask too many questions, I am fine, I am in New Orleans, and I am going to do some shopping."

"What the hell are you doing there?"

"Shopping!"

There was a pause on the line, "Kay, I went to your house…"

A feeling of dread came over her, "You did?"

"Yeah, hard enough to find. Kay, what is that place you call the manor? I met your leader, she seemed a little delusional. Are you in a cult?"

"Heavens, no!" Kay sighed, he still has no clue, but the Deadman was right, Dave had a way of finding things out.

"Then why wouldn't they let me in? Kay, something's going on and I'm going to find out, if you tell me or not. You're my sister, it's my job to take care of you."

"Oh Dave, I love you so much for that, but we are not a cult, there is nothing wrong going on, and I'm OK. Please, leave it at that!"

"Like hell I will, not when the number one contender for the belt is sniffing around you like a dog in heat…"

Kay got angry, "You still think the only reason why the Undertaker is hanging around me is because of that stupid belt of yours? Well, news flash for you bro! Mark is a decent and caring… "

"You were with him a couple of nights ago, weren't you?"

She froze, he was calling her out and she had no choice but to give in, "Yes, I was with him, but nothing happened!"

"That you can remember! I told you what he did to Stephanie…"

"I'm sick of hearing about Stephy poo! For the final time, the Undertaker is not using me to get to you! And I know you don't want me to get hurt but trust me, it won't be him! And if you tell me one more time that he's a monster, well…I just won't be happy with you!"

"But Kay, I'm just trying to look out for you! Just one last thing, did he try anything with you?"

Kay slapped the flip phone off with a fury and drove out of the parking lot. The phone began to ring again but she ignored it. There were more important things to do right now, and listening to her clueless brother, even though she loved him, was not one of them.

She had to remember where the alley was, and hoped that the old wise woman was still there. The last time she came this way was with Matron Shalla was when she was sixteen, and it was the height of Mardi Gras.

She grinned ear to ear when she say the big sign with a red windmill painted on it, it was the Moulin Rouge. Just past the restaurant, there was the alley, she slowly drove into it and stopped the car at the end, As she got out of the car, she looked around, sure enough, there was the red door that lead to the back apartments behind the restaurant.

"That was easy…" She said out loud as Reaper flew out of the car and landed on his spot of her shoulder, "I wonder if she knows I'm here…"

The red door busted open as a black voluptuous woman, dressed in multicoloured dress and a bright red head wrap on her head. The woman was a beauty for her age, and even though she was large, she could carry that weight and make any man beg for her. Madam Sheer was known for her many suitors.

"Little Raven!" Madam Sheer shouted in her Creole accent as she grabbed hold of the young witch and hugged her tight, "Oh Ma Cherie! I knew that a Raven would land at my door this morning!"

"It's great to see you too…" Kay could manage out, the old woman was strong and kind of crushing little Kay as she held her.

The Vodu leader released the little Raven and grinned ear to ear, "I had always known that you would become so beautiful! Come! Come inside and warm your body by my fire and eat some good Gumbo! I had just taken it off the fire!" She grabbed Kay by her hand and led her inside the apartment.

Kay looked around the living quarters, they had not changed since her last visit. There were pots and pans around a large fireplace where a warm fire was dancing, the hearth around it was covered with bunches of dried herbs and spices, not to mention a few chicken feet were hanging with them. The middle of the room was empty, saved for the intricate runes and circles painted on the floor, for their rituals of course. And there was also an old looking fridge that was kept in a corner next to a large table where two wooden bowls sat empty, and a big black cauldron filled with spicy shrimp Gumbo.

"Come! Sit by the fire!" Sheer moved Kay over to the fire and sat her down on a soft dark green pillow beside the hearth, "I will get that gumbo you like so much."

Kay watched silently as Madam Sheer filled both bowls with her gumbo and grabbed two buns from the bread rack near the fire, "Here you go, Cher, just the way you like it!"

Kay eagerly shoved a heaping spoonful into her mouth and grinned as she chewed, it was still as delicious as she remembered.

"This is fantastic, Madam Sheer.." She grinned, "but you can guess that I'm not here for the food."

"Don't be silly, Cher. I know why you have come, it was only a matter of time before your Matron would send you to me."

"What?" Kay was confused, "But Shalla didn't send me, I came here to ask you some questions about a Vodu running loose…"

Now it was the Creole woman who was confused, "Oh…" She thought for a moment, "What do you wish to know?"

"How is your knowledge of Death Magic?" Kay asked as she got another bowl of gumbo.

There was a look of gave discomfort in the old woman's eyes, "Ma Cher, I know everything about Death magic…"

To be continued.


	17. Chapter 17

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 17**

Kayla sat quietly on her cushion as the old Creole woman looked through her old world books, occasionally looking back at the young witch with a strange look on her face. The look was the same one the Vodus would give Kayla whenever they would see her. It made her quite uncomfortable.

Kayla had explained all that had happened since her investigation began of the Undertaker, leaving out the strange feelings she was forming for him. She had hoped that the old woman would know what the rogue Vodu was planning, or at least give her the spell that required so much power.

"And you believe this Vodu is after you?" Madam Sheer asked her without looking away from the pages of the old spell book.

"Yes, he's attacked me twice since I've started to work for the WWE. I really do believe that he's after my witch's soul to power what ever spell he's working on."

Sheer looked at her with that same strange look, "But Cher, why would you believe that he is after your power?"

Kay gave her the same look, "Because we have more power within our souls than normal people?"

Sheer smiled, "Chere, I do not believe he is after you for your soul. Yes we do have more _ame_ than them, but Chere, he would not be after yours. Your powers of nature are not controllable at the moment."

"What do you mean by that?"

The old woman closed her book and took a drink of the sweet tea she had made earlier, "Chere, has Matron Shalla say anything to you about your power?"

"Not really, except that I shouldn't be afraid to use it and I should be using it more often…"

"Of course, Cher. Even though the power grows with you, unless you use it and train it, the power becomes very unpredictable and dangerous for another to use in that fashion. It would be more realistic to believe that the power would consume the new host than aid it."

Kay now smiled, "You know, it doesn't feel that powerful to me…"

"Because you never use it! And because you never use it, you cannot control it and so it weakens you! Cher, do you know why you have all four elements?"

"No, no one told me anything and I can't find anything in any of the books about it. As far as my Matron is concerned, there has never been a witch born with all four, only with one power."

"There is a tale from my home land, of a woman who controlled all four. She was revered as the goddess during her stay here. She was able to heal our sick, bring rain to our crops, and even called forth the animals to her command…"

Kay burst out laughing, "And you think that I might be like her? I don't think so! Madam Sheer, I can't use it! And when I do, it's usually just a little flame or a drop of water, and then I'm on the ground puking! Now I would be more to believe that maybe one of my kids might be like that but me? I'm a spell caster! And a dam good one too!"

Madam Sheer gave the young witch a dirty look as she raised her over sized body from the chair and walked into her private room, Kayla suddenly felt bad for what she had said. It seemed that she had insulted the woman's heirloom story, she would apologies immediately.

"Here." Madam Sheer threw what looked like an old African necklace at Kay, who instinctively took it and began to look at it with curiosity.

The string was made of old thin hemp, brayed together in an inter-knit pattern, one Kay had never seen before. In the middle of the sting hung a small wooden carving of a bird, the head and beak reminded her of a raven. In its talons, it carried a skull with a tiny rune cared on its forehead, too small for Kay to make out. Attached to each side of the carving was ornaments representing all four elements. Sea shells for water, tiny white feathers for air, brown pebbles for earth, and little clay beads, she guessed they were filled with ash, for fire.

"It was hers, passed down from generation to generation of Vodus." The old woman stood proud in front of Kay, who was still looking at it with intent, "To be given to you."

Kay looked up in surprise, "What? I don't understand. The symbol for the Goddess is a circle…sometimes she's represented by another rune…but I've never seen her represented by a raven before."

It was now the old woman's turn to laugh, "Cher, the raven has been used as a messenger from her to her children. Have you heard of the Native Americans speak of sister Raven?"

"Yeah, she was the one who helped them when they first came here…"

"Because the great mother had sent her to them, to help her children. The raven also brings the souls of the dead to her…"

"I know that one. But I've travelled all over the world, even Africa! Why haven't I seen this before?"

"Because you were never looking for it. This symbol only represents the mother as she would be on this world. It does not happen often. Only when the people are in dire need of her guidance…"

Kay jumped up in surprise, "Hold on, are you telling me that the goddess is just going to take over my body any time soon? I really don't like that idea…"

Sheer smiled, "No Cher, I do not believe that she would do something like that. But I do believe that you are her chosen, the one to carry her word to the people."

Kay just starred at her with black expression on her face, "You know that that's hard for me to believe."

"I know Cher, but believe me when I say you are destined for great things…"

"You know what? I really don't have time for this. On another occasion I will talk more about this with you, but right now I need to know why that Vodu is here. That is the real reason I'm here!"

"And you do not believe that you are part of that reason?"

"Of course! He's attacked me twice!"

"And you survived?"

"Of curse I did! I'm here ain't I? Well, I was actually saved both times by Mark but…"

Sheer grinned, and tapped on the skull of the necklace with her long red painted finger nail, Kay looked down at the raven holding the skull.

"I don't get it."

"It is interesting that you had discovered _l'home du mort_, isn't it? No one knew he was here…"

"Except Shalla…" Kay whispered as she gazed into the skull's dark eyes, then she looked up at the old woman in acknowledgement, "…and the rogue Vodu! He would have guessed a long time ago what Mark is!"

Fear and realization crept into the young witch's mind, "He was attacking me because I am a threat to him! It's not my power he's after!"

Kayla grabber her coat and car keys as she began to run out the door, Madam Sheer was taken back by this and ran after her.

"Chere! Where are you going?" She called out as Kay ran into the pouring rain.

"I have to go find Mark! The Vodu is after his power!"

Madam Sheer tried to shout out a response, but Kay had jumped into her car so much urgency that even Reaper almost didn't make it in. She backed out her rental so fast that Madam Sheer thought she would crash, but Kay didn't hit anything and her tires squire as she drove like a mad man down Bourbon street.

Madam Sheer shook her head as she walked back into her home, Lizza, her daughter and fellow Vodu entered the living quarters and looked sadly at her mother, "She does not believe?"

"No Chere, but in time she will discover the truth behind her purpose, and why she is so fascinated with _l'home du mort_."

To be continued….


	18. Chapter 18

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 18**

Mark wondered in lazily into the arena, the WWE were performing in Florida tonight and Mark wanted to just relax a little before they started. He actually just wanted to be here early, just in case Kayla was around and wanted to talk to him. He never thought he would like to have the little nosey witch around at first, there was definitely a charm about her, and it wasn't the magic she controlled. He stared to even dress like a normal human and start coming through the front doors instead of just appearing in his dressing room moments before a match, just to get her attention.

Kayla had sparked a curiosity within him, she wasn't afraid of him, well, at first she was. But the more they talked, the more he found enjoying it. He was always the silent type here, staying alone, except for the company of his brother. Kane however, was always on the unpredictable side, even to Mark. One never knows what goes on in that mind.

He remember Kane's visit from last night, _"Just take her if you want her so bad!" _Kane had told him.

But Mark didn't want to just take her as Kane had done with Lita in the past, it didn't really work out as he had planed. Mark new that force was something you used when the time was right, but there would be no right time with Kayla. He knew deep down inside he couldn't force her to be with him, not just because of the unknown consequences, but he didn't want her to come to him that way. And besides, he knew she would always be coming to him in her own time, the look of her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was just as fascinated with him as he was with her.

The Deadman just grinned, the thought of Batista's sister getting involved with him was just pleasure, and the added bonus of keeping the animal off game. He wasn't intending to use her in this way, but if Dave was upset, then it was just an added bonus.

"TAKER!" The Deadman turned around and smiled, _speak of the devil…_

Dave was walking up to him in a hurry, and with the looks of his body language, he was pissed at the sight of the Deadman.

"We need to talk." Dave growled, even though he was a few inches shorter than the Deadman, but he wasn't scared of him.

"About what?" Mark dropped his gym bag on the ground and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "There's nothing for us to talk about."

Dave stopped only a few inches away from the Deadman, "Oh yes we do! I want you to stop whatever tricks you're pulling on Kayla! I want you to stay the fuck away from her!"

A smile crept on the Deadman's lips, "For the record, I'm sure she hasn't told you, but I'm not the one after her. She's been after me."

"Like fuck she would be around you on her on free will! You have something on her, I know! I'm just warning you…" Dave turned around and walked away in a huff, the Undertaker just smiled as he grabbed his bag and walked down to his current dressing room.

Just as he was about to open the door, he stopped for a moment and let his thoughts wonder to Kayla. He shouldn't have told Dave that she's the one that's been making the first moves, that would just get her into trouble with her brother. He would have to tell her before she met up with Dave first, just to prepare her.

He opened the door and walked in, a flash of red light beamed within the room. Mark fell hard on the floor, the door closing on its own as a shadow crept from the darkness into the lit from the bathroom. The rogue Vodu rolled Mark onto his back and a pleased look crept on his face, the Reaper was out like a light. The Boogieman giggled like a child, his plan had worked, now it was time for the hard part. He had to get the reaper to the chosen location, in order for the transformation to take place and the magic to perform correctly. He had studied every form of Death magic for this special moment, he could not fail!

The Vodu had hoped that he could have done this with more time, but with the snooping of that little witch caused him to speed up his plans. As soon as he had seen the little snot nosed girl at the manor so many years ago, he knew what his destiny was. If all his peers had said was true, then a Reaper would have come here all ready, waiting for her to mature. And sure enough, he had two to choose from.

He first thoughts were to go after the younger Reaper, being the younger, the Vodu believed that he would be less experienced and an easy target. That wasn't the fact with Kane, the Big Red Machine was totally unpredictable and unbalanced. The Vodu could not go after him, so he had to settle for the wiser and intelligent of the two, the Undertaker.

It took the Vodu a few moments to cast a spell that would take him and his prey to the location, candles lit up in crevices of the dark cave, there where runes painted in blood all around the cave, and a crude stone sat in the middle of the cave room, covered in the same runes as the walls. This is where the Undertaker's body was resting, all in preparation of the transformation.

With heightened excitement, the Boogie man grabbed his wand and began to chant in a language almost lost in Africa. He had studied the power of the dead and became powerful in its use. He had discovered that with the right combination of spells, he could drain the soul of a Reaper into himself and become one himself. And with the power of this particular Reaper, he could easily drain the power of that little witch and become a God himself!

He had reasoning behind his plan, the little snot nosed witch didn't deserve the Goddess' blessing, she didn't use the power anyway? Why give it to her? He would use the power for what it was indented to do. He would free his people of the pain and troubles his country was under. He would heal their sick, give them food, and save them from the cruelties of the world. He would eliminate the threats and then the people would take their rightful place as the head of the world, worshipping him as their god. Yes…they would sing his praises and honour him with sacrifices. He would be revered as the greatest Vodu in history, with all the rights and privileges that came with it.

He would be the Goddess' equal, and he knew she would see him worthy and take him as her consort! A new Pantheon! Created out of his image! Yes! The good he will do will outshine the evil he had to do, in order for his people to be free! Yes! The goddess would see this! She had not disapproved of his plans, there was no word from the astral world. No signs on anger or of displeasure. Perhaps she was waiting for him, waiting for one worthy of her grace? Yes…he would be worthy of her…not this Reaper!

He concentrated the chanting, then threw a powder lightly over to where Mark's heart would be. His form began to grow, causing the Vodu to quicken his pace. The spell the Reaper was under would not last long and the ritual had to be completed before the Reaper woke up, or else he would be more than just dead.

The Vodu continued in his ritual, making sure that he spoke the spells correctly. Soon, he would have the power of the dead, and he had planed to test his new powers on the little witch. He would take her powers, drain her soul until there was nothing left. His power would be completed. The powers of Death and Life, he would not need to follow any of the mortal rules, he would be immortal! A god! He loved that thought. The dream was to come true!

As he kept his chanting, he slipped a stone onto the Undertaker's chest. The stone was black, except for the tiny blood red drop like spots on the stone. The stone was rare, only a few magic people had it. He had taken this one from a powerful Shaman in Canada, the fight was well worth the treasure. He didn't believe that the old Indian knew what it was and what it could be used for, but the Boogieman knew. He had seen this stone written in his people's ancient scrolls, it could transfer power from one being to another. The old man didn't know, and was not worthy to have such an artifact in his possession. But the Vodu had used the old Indian's death to his advantage. After all, he needed the blood of a magic user for the runes in the cave.

Soon…soon he would be a living God on this world, and the world will tremble at his might. There would be no more ignoring his people, he would create an army of followers that would do anything he told them to do.

The glow from the stone told him that it was ready to start taking the power from the Reaper, and there would be no one to stop him. No one would find him in time, no one knew of his plans. The stupid little witch thought she was the one he was after, she was just a rouse. To keep them from his initial plans, at least he didn't need to find her after his transformation was complete.

The stone grew brighter as the power slowly began to move, the Vodu grinned with delight. Soon, he would have the Undertaker's powers, and then, he would get rid of the stupid little witch who was to become the next Hand of Gods.

To be continued…..


	19. Chapter 19

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 19**

Planes, trains, and automobiles, they weren't fast enough for Kayla. She had to find Mark and tell him what she discovered before it was too late. He would probable tell her that there's nothing to worry about, that a little Vodu can't do anything to him. Was that Reaper pride? Or male pride?

She didn't want to take a chance on that thought, she had to find him, know that he's OK and safe. But then, if he had been killed for his power and the Vodu had it, what could she do? She didn't have the power to battle him right now! His first two attacks proved to that. If only she could use her natural abilities, but they would hinder her than aid her right now.

She appeared when he would be, inside a hallway of the arena where the WWE was hosting a show. She looked around the empty hallway, looking for any indication for where the change rooms were. She let instinct take over as her body ran down the halls, searching for him in fear.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw her brother talking with Bobby Lashly, he caught her in his eyes the moment she had turned around the bend.

"Kay!" He shouted as he ran to her, an angered look on his face.

"I have no time to talk to you right now…" Kay huffed as she looked around in desperation.

"Well, I need to talk to you…"

She turned to her brother, he could see the fear and pain in her eyes, "Kay, what wrong?"

"Where are the dressing rooms?" She spit out of her trembling mouth, "Please just tell me where they are…"

Dave grabbed a hold of his fidgety sister, "What has he done to you?"

"NOTHING!" She shouted, "I need to find the Undertaker now!"

"Kay, I forbid you to see him…" Dave didn't finish that sentence, the look of her angry eyes short back like darts into his heart.

"Forbid me?" She growled, "You dare to forbid me?"

She ripped herself away from his hold, "I have no time for your fucken bullshit of what you think he is! Now, tell me if you have seen him or not or tell me where the dressing rooms are! I will find him with or without your help!"

"The dressing rooms are just down the hall where you turned from." Answered Bobby as Dave gave him a dirty look.

"Thanks." Kay turned around and ran back from where she came from, without another look at her brother.

It was just moments when she had reached the Undertaker's door, the uneasy feeling she was getting made her nauseous. She swallowed what ever was trying to come up from her gumbo filled stomach as she turned the unlocked door handle, she now wished she hadn't eaten so much. It was dark and still in the room, too quiet.

She cast a simple spell that would allow her to see if magic was used in this room, the room's blue glow shone so bright that it was almost white. Fear and panic was unsettling her stomach badly, she had no choice but to run into the bathroom and allow her stomach's contents for be released inside the toilet bowl. Talk about praying to the porcelain god.

She wiped her mouth with a wet cloth at the sink and looked into the mirror at her worn reflection, fear was written all over her face. She didn't have the power to fight this Vodu, and he had Mark, she was sure of it. She had tried to cast location spells on him when she was in the car, but they revealed nothing to her. How could she find him in time and attempt to save him from a wizard that was much more powerful than her?

Reaper's crow broke her out of her self-pity, she turned to the bird, who looked back at her in concern.

"Oh Reaper…" She touched the bird's head gently with her fingers as a tear left her eye, "I don't know how to find him in time…"

_It is only natural for a Raven to find Death. They are connected you know_... the Matron's voice echoed in her mind.

"A raven to find death…" Kay repeated, she turned to her bird, "You think…you think she meant the raven within me?"

The bird just sat there, there was a smile on that beak.

"OK, so…the raven within me could find him because he's Death, right? And the raven and Death are connected, right?" The bird could only crow in agreement, "So, if I concentrate on him, then maybe I can find him?"

Reaper jumped on her shoulder as Kay knelt down on the bathroom floor and closed her eyes. The first thing she needed to do was clear her mind, as hard as it was without thinking about Mark's welfare. It took a few moments for her mind to clear, then, for the first time in her life, she allowed the raven with within to come out.

The raven was the source of her power, it also was her soul. The power within grew as she could hear the loud crowing to call forth into the spirit world, calling for Death…and much more. She could feel the feathers of her wings touch the outer walls of the prime material plane as the raven entered the Astral plane. She could see through the raven's eyes, there were the fables Reapers all around, floating still as the raven flew around them. The reapers seem to bow at the raven as she flew past them, and through the veil that kept the separation of both worlds.

Kay could see a vast desert with a thin muddy river passing through it, people were below around the river, scooping up the dirty water in their little pales and jugs. Then the vision turned from the desert to a mountain top, lush with trees and plants until the raven landed on an edge, where a cave entrance was discovered. The raven crowed within the cave, shadows moved around and powerful magic was being preformed. The raven had found Death.

It took a few moments for the raven to return to Kay's body, she discovered that there was more to the totem than just an animal. Nauseated from the trip, Kay flung her head back into the toilet bowl, then stood up on shaky legs.

"Ready for a trip?" She asked her bird as she rinsed the towel again and wiped her face and mouth with it, the bird crowed again in agreement.

It took less time this time for the spell to work, she had just cast a few minutes before coming to the arena. She concentrated on the cave where the raven had landed, and in a few more moments, she was standing in front of the same cave. She gave her surrounding a quick look and starred back in shock.

"We're in Africa…" Kay whispered, "…this is were all our legends say when men first walked the world after the goddess had given birth to them. This is a land of power! No wonder he's here. He can use the power of the land to drain Mark of his power…"

She could feel the magic of the land within her, calling softly to her like an old lover waiting for her embrace. She was drawn to it for some reason, but Reaper's peck with his beak at her ear stopped her thoughts from wondering from the task at hand.

She turned around and starred into the dark cave, there was a powerful magic being used within, and she could feel Mark within the darkness. He wasn't able to defend himself, and she knew it was because to the Vodu who was casting his ritual magic within.

The rituals were still being preformed, she had guessed, she had the time to save him. But the problem she had was not in the time it would take to save him, it was if she could save him. She knew her limitations, she would have to call all her spells to fight the evil and hopefully not allow him the chance to get her before she could speak out a spell.

It didn't matter anymore, she had to try. She began her potentially fatal walk within the darkness of the cave and gave a little prayer to the gods for help. She'll need all the help she could get to pull this off.

To be continued….


	20. Chapter 20

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 20**

She could hear something from a head of her, the cave was rather dark and she didn't want to risk detection. The Vodu was obviously preoccupied with his current task, hopefully this would give her the break she so desperately needed.

First, she needed her friend to be safe. Even though the raven was a witch's familiar, he still would be in danger of the Vodu's attack. She turned to her feathered companion and touched his head gently, she would sent him back to the entrance where he would be safe before continuing on. She wouldn't risk the bird for anything.

_Go…_ She commanded in her mind.

_Mistress?_ The bird looked at her in question.

_I want you to go back to the cave entrance and wait…_

_Mistress, I do not wish to leave your side…_

_You are bounded to my word, Reaper, please, do as I command. _

The raven nudged her cheek with his beak in adoration, _You have never given me a command before…_

_I know, please obey me. Besides, if things don't go well, I need you to find a Vodu in a village and get back to Matron Shalla and warn her. _

_You should have sought her aid…_

_I know, but I wasn't really thinking at the time._

_I will go, as you wish. Be careful._

The raven lifted from her shoulder and flew towards the light at the cave entrance.

_I will…_

Kayla took a deep breath, now she would place all her strength and power to her task at hand. A protection spell would be a start. She began to wave her hands about, letting them dance in the air was she whispered the spell. She could feel the force move around her body, encasing her in an invisible shield. It would definitely repel most spells but the shield would take damage and after a certain amount, the spell would end. Only problem was, the strength of the shield depended on the power of the witch.

She walked closer, the power that was being drawn within the cave was indeed of ages past. The old weave of the magic seemed to our within the stones, Kayla pressed foreword until she could make out the candle light at the end. This is where the source of the magic was coming from, where the Vodu was casting the ancient magic for his cruel and unethical plan.

Finally, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel, many candles lit the large room that she was walking towards. She stopped a little ways towards it and covered towards the wall, moving her body as little as possible, she peered a little beside the cave entrance to take a look. Sure enough, the Vodu was chanting softly as he shook his little crude wand over the still body of the Undertaker who laid motionless on the crude alter.

A simple Hold Undead spell supplied with the power of dead souls would definitely hold the Reaper for now, but with any spell, it would wear off in time. Kay had hoped that the Vodu had wasted precious time in preparing the spell. The more time she gave Mark, the sooner he would wake and then he could definitely take care of the mortal.

She gazed in the security of the darkness, she could see the stone placed on Mark's chest. She recognized it immediately, she had been told and read all the information on those stones. There were seven to be exact. Six were accounted for, her own Matron had one locked away in the great vault that laid under the Manor back in Salem. She could guess that the seventh has now been discovered. The origins of the stones came from Africa, said to have been created from the after birth blood of the goddess.

Kayla breathed deeply, she needed a plan right now but none would come to mind. Her first reaction would be to throw a fireball into the cave room, but she didn't know weather the spell would hurt Mark. She had to attack with direct spells.

The Vodu was busy, chanting away as the stone grew slowly brighter. He didn't see Kayla enter the magic enslaved room, nor the three flaming glowing arrows that were flung towards him. All three had hit their mark as the Vodu screamed in pain as the three arrows hit him straight in the chest, burning his black skin.

"Come on Boogieman!" Kayla shouted to the Vodu, "I want to play too!"

Now she had his undivided attention. The Vodu screamed in a blood curdling yell and threw a few of his own spells at the young witch. Kay didn't anticipate that he could just use his manna, another word for soul power. He unleashed his own brand of magic, a serpent like electric form began to rise from the ground. Kayla took a few steps back as the Vodu laughed.

"So…" The Boogieman finally spoke, "The little witch believes that she can defeat me…how very funny. YOU ARE TOO LATE! Even as the serpent comes for you, your precious Reaper is being drained of his power! Soon! I will posses his power and with that! I will take yours as well!"

"I don't think so…" Kayla growled as she felt the Raven within her leave her body and began to consume the serpent, "Ravens like to eat snakes for dinner!"

She didn't know how it happened, the Raven seemed to have a mind of her own. She didn't have any problems to conquer the snake, but the Vodu was another matter. Just as the Raven was almost finished with the spectral snake, the Vodu sent another spell towards the young witch.

The Vodu shot three small red like balls towards her, but the shield had taken the damage instead of her mortal body. Kay threw a few more flame arrows towards the Vodu, but with a waved of his hand, they were stopped in mid air.

"I believe…" The Vodu grinned, "…that these belong to you!"

With another waive of his hand, the arrows turned around and were flung back towards Kay, again the shield withheld the blast, but she could feel the fail in it. The shield had only a few more takes until it would disappear, then she would be defend less against him. She had to prolong the battle, just enough time for Mark to snap out of the spell he was under.

"Here is another lesson!" The Vodu sent another arsenal of red balls towards her, this time the shield had taken the blast, but then was destroyed by the attack. Kay had no choice but to hide behind the rock face as the Vodu sent the magical missiles at her, luckily she hid in time because the balls hit the outer edge of the cave entrance.

"I'm not an idiot!" Kay shouted at his as she threw a few magic missiles of her own at the Vodu, who missed them with ease, "I know what you're after and I won't let you do it!"

"Do you truly?" The Vodu grinned as he crept closer towards her,

She shot another array of magic, this time four smaller fireballs into the room. She hoped that none had found Mark.

As luck would have it, none had, but a few had found the old parchment and linen in the cave, causing the combustible material to ignite. Fire began to crawl around the cave as the battle continued.

Kay moved a little into the way to cast another spell, but the Vodu was ready for her. His own magical arrows had caught her in the shoulder, burning through her clothes and into her skin. Kay tried her best to not yell out in pain as she tried again to throw another defence spell at the Vodu, but he was already on top of her. Another array of spells were sent to her, causing her body convulse in pain. She fell to the ground, holding her body under reflex as the Vodu walked up to her in confidence.

"You are not worthy of the gift that has been bestowed upon you." The Vodu whispered, "But fear not, I will not kill you…yet. I need your power as well."

Kay tried as she might to get back on her feet, but the blow from the wand knocked her back down.

"Be still witch! And I promise to not make it painful. I can give you a dignified death. Think of it as a worthy cause, giving your power to someone who is worthy…"

"NEVER!" Kay shouted as she felt the power exploded from her.

She had never tried to use all four elements together, let alone one at a time, she could feel the power flow threw her. She could feel the wind blow around her, the water running though her veins, the earth move beneath her, and the fire roaring within the core of her soul in anger. She threw her hands toward the Vodu, unaware that the power had taken control of her body. A stream of light burst from her hands and into the Vodu, knocking him back and causing his body to hit the rune covered stone walls.

The Vodu slowly tried to stand up, but Kay had collapsed on the dirt covered cave floor. Her head was spinning as the power grew within, but it wasn't growing for another attack. She could hear the raven within, calling out loudly for someone to aid…the raven was calling the Reaper.

"MARK!" Kay shouted, "MARK! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

The Vodu was standing now on shaky legs, he needed a few moments to get his bearings to attack this little worthless witch and make his dreams come true. But the Raven would not allow it.

"MARK!" She yelled again as the Vodu took a few uneasy steps towards her, "MARK PLEASE! WAKE UP!"

"He cannot hear you…" The Vodu took another few steps, "He is under my spell…"

A church bell rung loudly with in the caves, a wind blew within and blew the candles and the fire out. The Vodu and witch were left in the darkness as the bell rang again.

"I don't think he's under your spell anymore…" The Vodu could hear the witch's sultry and now confidant voice from the darkness…

To be continued…


	21. Chapter 21

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 21**

The cave was dark, the only sounds were the church bells that rung within the walls. Suddenly, one candle was lit, then another, and all after. The Vodu looked around the space nervously, there was no body laying on the crude alter now. The Vodu turned back to look towards the little witch, who was trying to get her weak body back onto her unsteady legs.

Kayla grinned as she stood tall and never took her eyes off the wizard, "You wanted his power? Now try to take it…"

The Vodu glared at her in anger, "You! I will make you pay for what you have done!"

He took a few steps closer towards the young witch, but Kay stood still with the same grin on her face.

Another gust of wind blew out the candles as a gong was heard in the darkness, then the candles lit up the small cave again. The grin on Kay's face widened to a smile as she looked past the Vodu.

"He's here…" She whispered, the wizard's eye widened in fear.

The Vodu could now feel the presence of the Reaper, but from behind him. Before the Boogieman could move, the Undertaker had grabbed the man by his neck and lifted him straight up from the ground.

"Never fuck with the Deadman…" The Undertaker's dark and raspy voice boomed out and echoed within the cave.

He threw the squirming body across the span of the cave, the Boogieman hit the rock wall full force. The body make a sickening cracking sound as it hit, the Vodu fell on the dirt floor moaning as the Phenom moved before the broken body.

The Deadman stood over the Vodu, his eyes white in anger, "You want my power?" He grabbed the Vodu by his neck again and lifted the shattered form high in the air again, "Then maybe you should experience it first!"

Kayla leaned against the cave wall as she watched the Reaper do what he was created to do. She could see the fear now in the Vodu's eyes as he tried desperately pry himself from the Deadman's lethal grip. But it was to no avail. She could see the life force being drained from the Vodu's face as he screamed for his gods, the Undertaker's grimly visage seem to show through his human skin. The darkness around his white eyes sent shivers up her spine as the Vodu was being drained himself into the Reaper.

This is what he truly was, a Reaper. Reapers feed on souls, not just take them to the after world. They gain the abilities and power from their victims, making them stronger. Just as the Boogieman wanted to take Mark's power and use it for his own dark purposes, the Reaper was now doing the same. And he didn't need a stone to do it, it was as natural as breathing to the Deadman.

After a few minutes of struggle ling, the Vodu stopped moving, his hands released its death grip from the Undertaker's arm. There was nothing left inside the Boogieman's corps, it was nothing but an empty shell. Kayla breathed a sigh a relief, she thanked the gods that it wasn't Mark laying on the ground instead.

She looked up at him and smiled, he smiled back, his face was back to normal and showed a concern for her as he walked over.

"Are you all right?" He asked as he took her into his arms to hold her week body up.

"I'll be fine, what about you? Are you OK?" She couldn't help but smile at him, she rested her head on his chest, no longer startled by the lack of a heart beat.

He kissed the top of her head, "I'm fine." He pulled her face up towards his with his hand, "I heard you. Wherever I was, I heard you."

"I was scared, I didn't know what else to do…" A tear fell from her eye.

The Undertaker gently wiped it away from her cheek with his thumb, "Kay, no matter where I am, all you have to do is say my name and I will be there in a thought."

"Mark…I…" She leaned in, ready to feel his lips on hers.

She didn't care if they were cold, she didn't mind. She just wanted to feel him again, to know he was still alive with her. She could feel his breath on her face and he moved closer, the feeling was quite mutual…

"Kayla!" The two were startled, Mark's first move was to move Kayla behind him and prepare to attack.

The Deadman stood motionless as Kay peered from behind him to see the group in the light of the candles. The one who had called her was a man of her age, with long blond hair and big blue eyes. He was dressed in black as with a few others, three women and five other men. All whore the same silver pentacle as Kay did.

"Stephan?" Kay looked over that the man, "How did you get here?"

Mark looked at her, "Friends?"

"Yeah, they're from my Coven." Kayla moved from behind the Deadman, "How did you guys get here? How did you know where to find us?"

Another witch, a woman with short black hair stood forwards, "Matron Shalla received a disturbing call from a Vodu in New Orleans, the Vodu told every detail of your visit to Shalla."

"And Shalla cased a location spell on you but she couldn't find you. So she cast it on your familiar and she found him. So she sent the bunch of us here looking for you in case you needed help. She knew you wouldn't be far from your raven."

The woman who stood beside Stephan starred at the Reaper, "Who is he?"

"A friend." Smiled Kay, "The Undertaker."

"Where is the Vodu?"

"That would be the pile of shit in the corner over there," Mark pointed the body to them, "I doubt he'll be a problem anymore."

The group moved towards the body and took care to examine it. The woman stood up from them and looked at the odd couple.

"What happened to him?" She asked.

"He tried to dance with Death and lost." Mark grinned.

"What…"

"Clair, there's nothing really…" Kayla couldn't finish the sentence without dropping to the dirt ground, she had forgotten that she was still weak from using all four elements.

"Kayla!" Mark shouted as he picked her up into his arms, she was still dazed from the battle.

"I'm…fine…" She whispered.

"You're still weak, we better get you into a bed." He smiled at her.

She leaned her head against his chest, "Sleep would be great right now."

To be continued…


	22. Chapter 22

A Raven in the Hand

CHAPTER 22

Kayla opened her eyes, the sun was shining bright from the balcony doors and into her room. She looked around, and sure enough she was back in her own bed at the Manor. Someone had dressed her in her own nightgown and put her to bed here, she didn't remember past being in Mark's arms in the cave.

The door to the room opened as Matron Shalla walked in carrying a glass of water with her.

"I am happy to see you awake, little one." She smiled as she walked over to the bed and sat next to Kayla.

Kay was glad for the water as she thanked her matron and took a large gulp of the cool water.

"Where is Mark?" Kayla couldn't help but ask.

The Matron kept her smile, "He stayed by your side the entire night, but he had to leave in the morning. Reapers don't often like to be in close range with the living. It makes them uncomfortable."

"Did he say anything?"

"Yes, that he would see you at work."

Kayla looked around the room again, "I think I'll see him before that."

The Matron frowned as she pulled out something from the pocket of her robes and placed it in Kay's hands, "I found this in your coat."

Kay looked confused as she opened her hands, there was the amulet that the Vodu priestess had given her fore she left to Find Mark.

"What about this?" Kay asked.

"Sheer told me that she beginning to tell you a story about this?" Matron smiled.

"She told me that it's another symbol of the Goddess, but I've never seen it before." Kayla replied, "I don't know what it means yet."

"But the Vodu Sheer had left you with some clues. I would believe that this is something worth looking for?"

Kay gave her matron a dirty look, she knew how to pick at Kay's curiosity. As Kay would say, _"Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought her back!" _Mind you of course, it had gotten her into trouble before.

Kay thought for a moment, then looked back at the Matron, "You think I should follow this, instead of following the Reaper?"

"I believe that this would be of more importance at the moment than he, yes. You know yourself that this has something to do with you and he, I believe that you would be able to find some answers to those questions burning deep inside of you."

The matron gave her a motherly kiss on her forehead, "I pray that the gods aid you in your chosen path."

Kayla looked back at the pendant as the matron left the room, the priestess Sheer had explained a little of the pendent. It was of African decent, apparently once worn by a Vodu who controlled all four elements. But unlike Kayla, this one had full use of her powers. If the Raven on the pendant represented the Goddess, what did the skull mean? She was taking a soul to the after world?

She began to move her fingers over the smooth wood, rubbing her finger tips around the carved outline of the feathers. She looked closely at the skull, she still couldn't make out the symbol on the forehead. But there was something familiar about the shape of the skull. She looked at the overall look of the carving, the familiarities began to immerse in her mind.

She jumped out of bed and grabbed her house coat. She pulled it tight around her as she ran out of her room and towards the grand library. It wasn't uncommon for people to walk around in their house coats

As she walked quickly inside the grand room, she looked over the rows upon rows of giant bookcases, filled to the high roof in literature of magic and religions. Of course the high powered books of spells, scrolls, and artifacts rested securely in the vaults of the Manor, away from inexperienced hands.

Kay found the row of books she needed, it took her a few minutes to retrieve a large grey leather bound book on Egyptian Hieroglyphs. She flipped through the pages as she held the amulet in the other, watching carefully for a hieroglyph to match. She stopped for a moment and gazed at the picture. There it was, a carving found on a tome in the Valley of the Lost Kings. It was found once upon the tomb entrance and once again on the door. The features were sharper the skull matched the skull on the amulet perfectly. No one had deciphered its meaning, they suspected that the bird was a vulture, but the neck was much too short.

Kay grinned, she would have to explore the tomb, it would take her to the next clue. She liked the adventure of discovering new artifacts and magic, the natural high of discovering something that had not seen human eyes in centuries was exhilarating. And this would take her one step closer at discovering what this all had to do with her.

But there was one problem, what she felt for Mark. She had seen him at his worst, or so she hoped. She knew what he was and what he will always be. She was mortal, he wasn't. Regardless of what she felt for him, she couldn't believe that they could live a normal mortal life. Kayla had dreamed of living a normal life once she had gotten all her adventuring out of her system. She wanted to be a wife and a mother like her own mother. Taking care of her family would be her new priority, and she would enjoy every minute of it.

But she couldn't live like that with him, he wasn't human. Just because he looked like everyone else, he was still a Reaper. It didn't make him a bad thing in her eyes, but it wouldn't be far to him to be bonded in something he doesn't understand. And herself? What of children? If so, would they be normal? She had heard of Kane's failed marriage and the untimely death of his child, and she had read how the once kind and loving Lita had turned from caring and honest to a lying deceitful x-rated tramp.

Kay sighed, she knew she loved him. It wasn't like Kane and Lita. They didn't love each other, and Kay could feel something from Mark. He could have probably taken her at any time, but he never did. Her brother was wrong about the Deadman, he would never hurt her. But for right now, she couldn't think about that time.

She had a new mission to take on, she had to travel to Egypt and discover what the tomb there has to do with an amulet from Africa. Perhaps as Shalla had said, she would be able to discover a little more about herself. And maybe a way to control her powers.

To be continued….


	23. Chapter 23

**A Raven in the Hand**

**CHAPTER 23**

Dave grabbed the last camera bag from Kay and placed it gently into the back of his sports roaster. The two had filled the back of his car with all her filming equipment, Dave had no idea she carried this much stuff with her. He was glad that she was leaving the WWE, i.t made him feel safer knowing she would be many miles away

He was more afraid that she would get hurt in the imminent battle that would take place soon. The Undertaker was sniffing out the gold around Batista's waist, and once the Deadman smells gold, he's coming for your soul. He didn't want her to get involved in the middle of their fight, going to Egypt was the best thing that could happen. Kayla would be out of the country when Wrestle Mania comes, safe and sound from the Deadman.

"Is that all your stuff?" Dave asked her, Kay grinned as she looked at her wristwatch.

Kay looked around the empty parking lot of the WWE headquarters, "Yeah, but I have to go inside and do one more thing."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" He asked as she ran back inside.

"Say goodbye."

Kay ran around the back of the building where the work out and locker rooms were, she had a feeling he was here. She had to get this over with or else she would not be able to do it at all. She couldn't leave without saying a word to him, he didn't deserved it. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't love someone like that, the love would be wonderful, but the risks were too great. She was fearful that they would loose themselves trying to stay together, and she doubted that gods would permit something so unnatural to happen.

Lost in thought, she had no idea he was right in front of her as she walked right into him, almost knocking herself on the ground. But Mark had caught her in time and held her close.

"You are a klutz, aren't you?" He grinned.

Kay blushed as he released her, "I was just looking for you."

"Really?" There was something in his eyes, as if he was expecting this.

She began to get a little nervous, "I'm leaving."

Mark's facial expression changed for a moment, "Leaving? Why?"

She pulled out the amulet and showed him, "This has something to do with me and I need to find out what that is. I'm leaving to go to Egypt in a few days, I'm leaving right now to go spend some time with my family before I leave. I wanted to say thank you for everything you've done."

Mark tried to smile, but his heart wasn't into it, "I should be thanking you. If you hadn't come here, we wouldn't have known about the Vodu before it was too late."

"Yeah, well, you still have me by one." She tried to smile back.

"You take care of yourself, OK?" He pulled her close one last time and held her tightly in his arms, she held on to him, just as tightly.

"Remember," He whispered in her ear, "If you ever need me, just say my name." He kissed the top of her head and let her go.

Kay immediately turned around and walked off, not looking back as she left his sight. The Deadman frowned as he walked back into his dressing room and flopped on the leather couch. Kane appeared beside him and scowled at his older brother.

"What did I tell you? Why the hell did you just let her take off like that?" Kane snarled.

The Deadman got back up from the couch and looked out the window, he could see Kayla walking towards Dave's car, "You will never understand humans, my brother. When you have a Raven in the hand and you love her, let her go. If she doesn't come back to you, it was never meant to be."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Kane barked back, but the Deadman just kept looking on as Kay entered her Brother's car.

Dave smiled at her and noticed the tears in her eyes, Kay, are you OK?"

"Let's just go, please?" She wiped her face with the back of her sweater sleeve.

Dave said nothing as he pulled the car out pf the parking and turned off onto the busy street. He looked back at his sister and took his free hand into her hers, giving a little squeeze to let her know she's loved. Kay turned to her brother and smiled. She knew deep down inside that things would get better, they always do.

**The end.**


End file.
